The Silent Icy Tear
by pacificatlantic
Summary: The snake kept her chained down... the ice will set her free. Aisuko had a tortured life until she ended up helping Kakashi teach team 7 at 12 years old to prove herself. Can she open up now, even if she can't speak anymore?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is my first fanfic, and I really hope this works! :) Please review, flames, praise, anything you like, but you'd be my best friend if you did! This was all done with the help of Tikarose, so equal praise for her! **

**Summary: The snake kept her chained down...the ice shall set her free.**

**Also, pictures of Aisuko are at the top of my profile page if you want to see, please take a look.**

**And now: BEGIN!**

Chapter 1: Aisuko's Beginning

"Nana, we are running out of money, why don't we just take up Orichimaru's offer?" Mommy's brother Shouta asked her.

I sat, watching from my crib like I always did, as Mommy looked shocked. "But...he... We have no choice do we?" Mommy finished in a quiet voice, looking down, her voice laced with fake sadness. I didn't like that man, that Orichimaru. He had come into our house, a few nights back. Didn't even ask to come in.

_Flashback_

_A man burst into the house. I looked up from my toy, and watched from my crib as Mommy went up to the pale-skinned man._

_"Who are you?" Mommy demanded. "I must ask you to leave."_

_"My name is Orichimaru, I have come with an offer for you. I believe you will be very interested." Orichimaru hissed as he spoke, like a snake. I shivered._

_"What do you mean? I have heard your name before, your a wanted criminal aren't you!" Mommy looked scared._

_Orichimaru laughed. "Why yes, I am. All the more reason to listen to my offer, no?"_

_Mommy shivered, then nodded. She swiftly walked to the dining table in the one room house. "Please, sit." She said tonelessly as she sat down._

_Orichimaru sat down. "I have heard rumors, rumors that you have a special bloodline limit from your father, but you never managed to activate it. Is that true?" He asked her. Uh-oh. Mommy didn't like people talking about that. She would ask him to leave now. I smiled and relaxed my shoulders._

_Mommy slowly nodded her head. Eyes downcast. My mouth flopped open in shock. What!_

_"Perfect!" Orichimaru purred. "That means that the little three year old over there also has it, right?"_

_"Don't bring Aisuko into this!" Mommy cried out, her concern so completely fake. I was glad she did, the criminal didn't look nice. _

_Said criminal looked angry for a second, before his face composed once more, and there was no emotion on his face. "She is she very reason I have come." He said, "I wish to have her."_

_I watched the emotions go over Mommy's face. Shock, sadness, then, anger. "Never, I don't know what you want with her, the bloodline hasn't activated in her either, and even if it had, I would never give her to the likes of you!" Mommy told him. Then she walked over to me and picked me up, patting my head. I squirmed, she was squishing me and she knew it._

_Orichimaru stood up as well. "Who said anything about giving her to me? I am aware that you have little to no money. I will pay you 10 million yen if you agree to this, and you will never have to see her again. I know you think of her as a monster with that white hair and those red eyes. Think about it for a bit. Place your hand on the seal when you have an answer, I will come." And with that, the horrible snake-like man disappeared, leaving in his place a piece of cloth, with a funny mark on it._

_End Flashback_

Mommy was looking at that cloth now. It was still in the same spot on the table, and Shouta walked over to it. "We will be able to live happily if we do this, and we wont even have to pretend to like that monster anymore, we can say it died of illness, it's not uncommon in babies." Shouta told Mommy.

I watched with fearful eyes as Mommy slowly changed her mind right before my eyes. I knew she never liked me, everything she did around me was an obvious act. But I didn't think she disliked me so much that she would be willing to sell me for a better lifestyle.

"Okay, I'll do it." Mommy said, I think I even heard a bit of relief in her voice but I couldn't be sure; her bangs were covering her eyes.

Mommy walked over to the cloth. Put her hand on it. A bright light filled the room, and I shut my eyes tight, whimpering.

"So you have made your disition?" That snake's voice filled the room when the light was gone, there stood Orichimaru.

"I have, the monster is yours." Mommy told him. My eyes widened through my tears.

"Mommy!" I cried. My first word, and it was all for a person that didn't care about me. Mommy's eyes widened, and for a minute, all I saw on her face was pain, pain and sadness. But the next second it was gone, replaced by scorn.

"She is not your mother, monster!" Shouta yelled at me.

Orichimaru crossed the room to me. He tilted my face up, and I looked into his eyes. What I saw there shocked me. All over his face, wasn't hate, or fake love like I was used to. On his face, was caring. And, was that, was it love also there?

"Do you want to come with me? I will treat you better than these horrible people who keep you locked in a crib." Orichimaru told me, caring laced through every word.

Slowly, I nodded my head. This man, was the closest thing I had to a father, and the only person I had ever met that seemed to actually liked me. "I'll go with you, Pappie," I told him in my high, clear voice.

His eyes widened slightly in shock, before being replaced with amusement. "Monster child, whatever, do you have the money?" Shouta asked Pappie, being very rude.

Pappie stalked over to him, and I thought for a minute, that Pappie would kill him, I didn't care though. I hated Shouta. Instead, Pappie just handed Shouta the money. He walked back to me and picked me up. I snuggled into his cold chest, smiling.

"Goodbye then," Pappie said, and we were enveloped in a cold light. The last thing I saw was my mother's hateful and also relieved face.

(Time Skip: 3 years, Aisuko is now 6 years old)

I lay in my bed, waiting for sleep to come. I was really tired, training was really tough today. Almost as tough as it was on my first day here. I smiled at the thought.

_Flashback_

_When the glow disappeared, I was in a huge underground cavern, still snuggled into Pappie's chest. "What happens now Pappie?" I asked him._

_"Well, we start your training. I'm going to make you into a perfect ninja," Pappie told me, holding onto his s's. _

_"Tomorrow? Or now? Can we start now?" I pleaded with him, I had always wanted to be a ninja._

_Pappie chuckled, "Okay, seeing as you seem eager." I was still getting used to his gentle ways. He set me down and I turned around to face him, smiling._

_"Where do we start?" I'll bet you anything that my eyes were shinning right then. _

_"Stand like this," Pappie struck a pose, and I copied him, giggling, I had never been so happy. "Now copy me," Pappie said, smiling. He went through stance after stance, and I copied him, while he corrected me every now and then._

_When we finished, I was panting and my muscles were already sore. "Pretty good for your first time, but we have a long way to go," Pappie told me, pride in his voice._

_I had collapsed, but now I stood, my legs shaky. "Again," I told him. Pappie looked shocked for a minute, but then smirked._

_"If we do it again, you can't stop until we get through the entire thing," He told me. This time I smirked._

_"If we do it again, and its not perfect, I'll do it again until it is, I wont even leave this room," I told Pappie, and meant every word._

_This time Pappie looked shocked, and then laughed. "Okay then Kawaiiko (little one) let's do this," And he led me through pose and pose again. When we finished, I knew it wasn't perfect, so all I said was "Again."_

_That night when I first got here, I practiced that style of taijutsu over and over. I don't know how many times I did it, but after countless times Pappie looked down at me and said one word. "Perfect."_

_When he said that, my eyes widened, I had thought so to!I smiled, and then collapsed. After all, the first three years of my life had been spent in a crib._

_End Flashback_

I chuckled softly, my determination just never stopped. Speaking of determination, I couldn't lose to Pappie tomorrow. He told me we would spar tomorrow, and if I beat him, he would give me a present. I was curious to see what it was. There wasn't anything else I needed. I had a father, my own room, and a sword.

I glanced at Saigoretsu (the last cold) now. She was beautiful. At least to me she was, others would say she was plain. But I loved her. I thought back to when I first got her.

_Flashback_

_I woke up, got dressed, and went into the kitchen to eat breakfast. Pappie had asked me if I could cook before, and I had tried really hard, but I still had to use my medical justu to force him to throw up the food I had made. Apparently it was toxic, while trying to make cereal, I had somehow made it poisonous. _

_When I walked into the kitchen, I was greeted by the smell of pancakes. I smiled, pancakes! Pappie knew my favorites to well. I thanked him as we sat down to eat. "Kawiiko, you know what day it is today, right?" Pappie asked me, smiling kindly._

_"My fifth birthday Pappie! Are you going to teach me that new taijutsu you promised?" I asked him, my red eyes huge._

_Pappie chuckled and nodded. "I also have a gift for you, but you need to take great care of her okay?" _

_"You do? Of course I'll take good care of her, what is she though?" I asked Pappie, overjoyed at the prospect of a gift._

_Pappie reached under the table, and brought up a wooden box. He slid it over the table towards me. I smiled at him before taking of the lid. I gasped. Inside the box was a sword._

_It was a regular katana, with a cream coloured sheath and handle. I laughed and lunged across the table at Pappie, giving him a bear hug._

_"The taijutsu I promised you can be used with a sword, so I got you one," He said through my silver hair that had flown into his face when I jumped on him._

_"Thank you so much Pappie!" I squealed. "What's her name?" I asked him, suddenly breathless with excitement._

_"Saigoretsu, it means the last cold," Pappie told me, laughing as I attempted to swing her around the room, but instead through her into the wall._

_"She's so heavy!" I exclaimed, pulling her out of the wall._

_"I'm glad your happy, now, let's go train, and then I will give you some weights, to help you get stronger, only take them off when I say you can okay?" Pappie asked me._

_I nodded at him, beaming from ear to ear. "Can you, can you strap Saigoretsu onto my back Pappie?" I questioned. He nodded, picked her up, and strapped her onto me. _

_"You look beautiful, Aisuko," Pappie told me, I gasped. He only called me by my real name when he was really proud of me. _

_I smiled and hugged him once more, and then we moved out of the kitchen to continue my training._

_End Flashback_

I smiled thinking of my first days with Saigoretsu. I stretched once more in bed before finally falling asleep.

The sound of buzzing woke me, and I looked around in confusion, before remembering that I had moved my alarm clock to the other side of the room, forcing me to get up. I walked over and turned it off, groaning.

I tugged on my ninja outfit, and strapped Saigoretsu onto my back. Once more I rubbed the freckles on my nose, wishing they would disappear. I pulled a brush through my long silver-white hair and pulled into a ponytail, so it wouldn't get in the way. I wanted to cut it, but I also wanted some long hair to, I still didn't know what to do.

I strapped my ninja pack to my leg and stocked it with kunai, and suriken, and of course, my kunai sharpening rock. I had a habit of sharpening kunai all the time. Once more I looked in the mirror, and made sure I was ready. Smiling, I ran into the kitchen and grabbed the toast that was already prepared, because no amount of training could fix my cooking. Must be genetics.

I shoved the toast into my mouth, and ran to the training room, where my fight with Pappie would happen. Wiping the crumbs off my face, I walked slowly into the room.

"Are you ready, Kawiiko?" A voice sounded through the cavern, echoing off the pillars.

"Yes Pappie, and no ninjutsu allowed, just taijutsu and kenjustu." I told him, and got into my battle stance.

"Then, begin," The word echoed around, and I saw white shoot towards me.

* * *

><p><strong>So? How was it? Please, I'm begging you, review! <strong>

**Oh, also, I don't own Naruto! Please keep that in mind, even though, whoever does own Naruto probably wouldn't write a fanfic about Naruto...would they?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! Its the next chapter, and I have nothing to say other that please review, I don't own Naruto, and Tikarose has helped me a lot with this!**

_Recap:_

_"Yes Pappie, and no ninjutsu allowed, just taijutsu and kenjustu." I told him, and got into my battle stance._

_"Then, begin," The word echoed around, and I saw white shoot towards me._

Mostly just on instinct I ducked. It was a good thing I did too, because not a second after that, Pappie's foot went flying above my head. I swept my foot out, trying to trip him, but he had already jumped out of the way.

I stood up and sent my fist out, punching his face. Pappie staggered back, and I took the chance to draw out Saigoretsu and charge towards him. I swung my blade at him sideways, aiming to slice him in half, but Pappie had already drawn out Kusanagi and blocked my strike. I leapt backwards to avoid being cut myself, but I could feel that my arm had gotten a shallow slice. Not giving me a chance to recover, Pappie jumped towards me, Kusanagi extending quickly to pierce my heart.

It was now or never to try out my new move. I had been practicing it without being taught by Pappie to use in this fight. I knew I could only beat him with a move he didn't know I knew. I slid my blade around Kusanagi, and broke it out of his grasp. Not missing a beat I continued Saigoretsu forwards to hold it against Pappie's throat.

Pappie looked shocked while I did the move, but when I finished Pappie only smirked. I had never heard Kusanagi hit the floor, and I knew he was controlling her with his mind. Kusanagi stabbed into my back before I had the chance to move away. The cold metal slid easily into my body, and I looked straight into Pappie's horror struck face. He had thought I would move.

Then, I grinned. I poofed into smoke and my real self appeared behind Pappie, my blade right over the back of his heart. "Didn't we say that there would be no ninjutsu?" Pappie asked me, and I couldn't tell if he was happy or not. Either way, I had won the match.

"Ah, I did Pappie, but you seem to forget, a ninja must be a master in the art of deception. I lied when I said no ninjutsu, and I had really thought you would use it as well, but you didn't, and so I have won." I told him, hoping that he would say that he had wanted me to do that, or at least be proud of me.

Pappie kept me waiting for a few more seconds that seemed to stretch for hours, finally he said: "Please remove Saigoretsu from my back."

I gasped, but did as I was told. I shouldn't have lied, now Pappie would be angry with me and not give me the present. I hung my head, and waited for his words.

I felt his cool fingers lift up my chin, and I looked into his unreadable eyes. "A ninja must be a master in the art of deception? That's your excuse for lying to me?" He asked me.

Swallowing hard, I nodded, my blood red eyes never leaving his green-yellow ones. Pappie smiled, then laughed outright. He pulled me into a bear hug and whispered into my ear, "Well done, my Aisuko, you are ready."

My eyes widened in shock, and I hugged him back. "You had me worried there, Pappie," I told him, chuckling.

"Do you want your gifts now?" Pappie asked me and I nodded vigorously.

He smiled and handed me a headband. It had a sound symbol on it and I gasped, beaming from ear to ear. I tied it around my neck and hugged him again.

"You are now officially a chunnin ninja of the Sound Country, able to go on missions solo. Do well Aisuko." Pappie told me. "Also, before I give you your next two gifts, may I give you a hair cut? I thought of a way for you to have long hair down that doesn't get in the way."

I looked at him for a second before nodding my head and handing him a newly sharpened kunai. He smiled and pulled my hair out of its clip. He cut my hair carefully and with much skill. He slowly walked around my while I kept my eyes closed, I wanted it to be a surprise.

When Pappie was finished he tapped my shoulder and handed me my kunai. I looked at the floor shocked to see so much white hair lying there. I glanced up at Pappie and he grinned. I bent down to the floor, and picked up a long clump of silvery hair, tied it around my kunai before putting it away. Then I looked back to Pappie and nodded.

Pappie whipped out a mirror and handed it to me. While he was doing this, I noticed how much lighter my head felt. What I saw in the mirror left me breathless. Gone was my waist length white hair. Now it stopped just before my shoulders and I had bangs that just covered my eyebrows but not my eyes. The best part about it was that Pappie had left some long strands hanging at my hair's previous length.

I looked at Pappie who watched my with a worried face. I smiled and tackled him to the ground with a hug. "Thank you so much Pappie! I love it!" Pappie grinned as I helped him up.

"Okay, ready for the first of your other gifts?" Pappie asked me. I smiled and nodded vigorously at him.

He smirked and pulled out a hair clip. It had a large star at the top, with three chains coming off of it. At the end of each chain was a smaller star that you could detach. Pappie attached it to the side of my head and smiled. "It looks lovely, Aisuko," He told me and I shivered when he said my real name again. "You can pull off each of the little stars and use them as throwing stars, the edges are very sharp so be careful, but don't worry it wont cut your hair." Pappie told me when I looked worried. **(A picture of this is all on my profile!)**

"Yay! Thank you again Pappie! You're the best dad ever!" I told him.

Pappie's smile turned into a serious face, and mine followed. "This next present will hurt quite a bit Aisuko, you'll probably black out. Are you sure you want it? With it you gain great powers."

I thought about it. If what Pappie was saying was true, I could be a lot stronger and possibly able to defeat him without the use of deception. And if that was true, then a little pain, or even a lot of pain was defiantly worth it. Hoping I was making the right choice, I nodded and smiled at Pappie.

He looked into my eyes for a bit, and decided that I meant it. Pappie hugged me and told me he was sorry before he buried his fangs into my neck.

Agony. I was in pure agony. I felt like my neck was being ripped off, and then a hot iron poker being seared into the wound. I convulsed on the floor, dry-heaved a few times and spasmed again. The fire that started in my neck was being spread around my body, and it felt as though every cell, every atom in my body was being obliterated.

Finally, after what seemed like days, but was probably only a few hours, the torture started to end, because I was blacking out. At least I thought it would end, but the pain followed me into my dreams. Somewhere deep in the back of my mind, I was remembering that all of this was worth something, that when this ended, I would be okay, and powerful. But that part was soon burn out as hell ripped through me once again.

Slowly, oh so slowly, I felt as though the torment was fading. It drained out of my body, and I felt a new strength flood through me. Now, it was as if the opposite of what had pounded through me was coming. It was gentle, and I relaxed. I felt restored and strong. I smiled, it was all over now.

I opened my eyes, and slowly took in my surroundings. Suddenly, I could see things with much better detail. I was in my room, lying on my bed, and in my sleep wear. Pappie was sitting in a chair next to me, with a mix of relief and overwhelming sorrow on his face. I smiled at him, put my hand on his cheek. "Thank you Pappie, thank you."

With a shock, I noticed that I could smell his snake-like scent from here, and I could hear his breathing, and the other prisoners in the building pounding on their doors. "Are you, are you okay now? Do you need anything?" Pappie asked me. His voice was hoarse.

"I'm perfectly okay now Pappie, thanks. But you look like you need some water. Do you want me to come to the kitchen with you?" I answered him. A look of extreme relief flooded his face, he had excepted that I wasn't angry with him.

He smiled at me and nodded. I got up with ease and we walked hand in hand to the kitchen, where I sat down. "You sure you aren't hungry?" Pappie asked me, sipping his water and looking at me with concern.

"Actually, now that you mention it, I'm starving. How long was I out for Pappie?" I asked my dad.

"Two days, that's amazing. Most people are out for five. I'm so glad you're alright Aisuko," He told me.

I smiled at him as he set a plate of pancakes in front of me, and I tore into one as I asked him, "So, what did you do to me?"

He passed me a mirror, and I used it to look at the mark where my Pappie had bitten me. I gasped when I saw the three marks in a circle on my neck. Mine looked like three snowflakes circling each other. "A curse mark?" I smiled, nice and huge.

Pappie chuckled at my reaction. I knew about the curse marks, because Pappie had taken me to see his prisoners before, and they had curse marks to. He told me that they weren't strong enough though, and had told me that when I was strong enough, he would mark me. "Yes. I'm hoping that it will awaken your bloodline."

I also knew about my possible bloodline. "Shall we test it Pappie?" I asked him. He nodded.

"I'll throw this kunai at your leg, if your bloodline has awakened, you wont be harmed. If not, we'll heal you up." Pappie told me as he readied a kunai. "You ready?" He asked me.

I nodded and braced myself, wishing that my bloodline awoke. Not to avoid pain, I felt as though I could handle any pain after the curse mark, I only wanted to impress Pappie.

Pappie let loose the kunai. It seemed to fly in slow motion towards my leg. As it came within a foot, I felt a pulse at my neck, and heard a faint clink noise and watched as the kunai fell harmlessly to the floor. My eyes widened as I watched a small patch of ice disappear from over my leg. I looked up at Pappie and saw happiness in his eyes. "The ancient bloodline, once again it rises," He breathed out, his eyes the size of dinner plates. I'm pretty sure mine were too.

Pappie then looked me straight in the eye. "I have to train you, everything about the curse mark, and everything known about your bloodline," He told me, excitement now shining through his very being. "Are you ready to start now?"

I looked around with my newly strong eyes. I smirked and nodded. _Looks like all that hell didn't go to waste after all._

**Well, I thought that was great ;) Let me know what you think?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you, those two people who reviewed! : ) Here's the next chapter! Hope you like it! **

**P.S.- Kuroryu Clan: I know that she was a bit mature, but I don't know any three year old to base her off. Thank you for reviewing and what you said though!**

_Recap:_

_Pappie then looked me straight in the eye. "I have to train you, everything about the curse mark, and everything known about your bloodline," He told my, excitement now shining through his very being. "Are you ready to start now?" _

_I looked around with my newly strong eyes. I smirked and nodded. Looks like all that hell didn't go to waste after all. _

(Time Skip, 6 years, Aisuko is now 12)

I frowned as I walked away from Otou-san's hideout. Recently he had been acting distant and even slightly mean. Ever since I lost my picture of my real father.

Mother had never really known father. We didn't even know his name. All we had was a picture of him. He looks silly in it too. He has really long spiky white hair, and red marks going across his cheeks. In the picture he is standing atop to toads, and is holding up a peace sign.

All I knew about him from mother's random talking was that he had been doing 'research' for his next book, and had unknowingly gotten Mother pregnant. I didn't blame him for never coming back, he probably had no idea that I existed.

Anyway, around when I lost my picture of him, Otou-san started acting strange and distant. He had just sent me away on my latest mission, without even a good luck._ Okay then, I'll just do extra well, and Otou-san will be pleased with me. _I thought to myself. It was a simple mission anyway.

I was to enter the Leaf Village as a commoner and seek out a man named Jiraiya, and claim that I needed some toad oil from him, when in reality I was to find out what he was doing.

I walked up to the gates now and checked my appearance once again. Common clothes, dyed hair and brown contacts, to blend in even more. Satisfied, I hid my chakara and walked up to the front gates and the man standing there with a senborn coming out of his mouth.

"Hang on a second, ma'am. Are you a member of the Leaf Village?" The man asked me.

I put on a frightened face and shook my head. "My name is Aisuko, I came here looking for a man named Jiraiya? I was told he may be here."

The man looked surprised, "Jiraiya? Yes, he is here. But first before you see him, I'll need to take you to see our Hokage."

"Okay, but please hurry," I told the man, making my face look even more stressed.

The man nodded, and motioned for me to take his hand. I jogged over to him and clasped his hand as we were enveloped in a bright light.

I opened my eyes to find myself in what must be the Hokage's office, seeing as he was sitting behind a desk. "Hokage-sama, I brought this girl Aisuko here to see you. She says she needs to talk to Jiraiya. Oh, and she's not from the village," The still unidentified man told the Hokage.

"Thank you, Gemna, that will be all," The Hokage's voice was hoarse with age.

I nodded to Gemna in thanks, my eyes still perfectly huge from worry. "Now, Aisuko-kun, why do you need to speak with Jiraiya?" The Hokage looked at me.

"I have come a long way to see him, my Otou-san is very ill you see. His doctors tell me that he needs toad oil to wake from his coma. I knew I probably wouldn't find a toad that I could get oil from, so I came here, knowing that Jiraiya is capable of summoning toads," I lied to the Hokage wonderfully.

"Ah, I see. Jiraiya is probably somewhere around the village, I hope you find him. When you do please give him this, and just a tip, he is probably hanging around the bath house," The Hokage gave me a slip of paper. "Oh, and please come tell me when you are ready to leave our village." I smiled at the Hokage and took the paper, and a map of the village.

I walked out of the room after bowing to him, and began my search for Jiraiya.

I was walking around the village, keeping an ear out for anyone named Jiraiya, when a blonde-haired boy ran up to me. "Hey! I don't think I've seen you before! What's your name? Why are you here?" He yelled at me. He had blond spiky hair, bright blue eyes, and stood at least a foot taller than me. I frowned, I was so short.

I stepped back and looked at him funny. "I am only here to look for Jiraiya, do you know where I can find him?" I asked the strange boy.

"Who's that? Never heard of him. My name is Naruto Uzumaki by the way!" Naruto smiled brightly at me.

I gave him a small smile and nodded. "Well I probably won't see you again, but thank you for helping me, Uzumaki-san." I began to walk away.

"Wait! never caught your name!" Naruto called after me. I just waved my hand behind me and continued to walk away.

I stood in front of the bath house, and almost screamed. The man who had just been kicked out was the one that made me so shocked. He was the man from my mother's photograph. He was my father. I just stood there, staring at him as he got up from the floor, turned around, and shook his fist at the closed door. "I wasn't doing anything! I wasn't or my name isn't Jiraiya!"

At that I almost fainted. This man, this Jiraiya, was my father. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. I had a mission to do. A mission from my real father, and I had to do him proud. I walked up to my dad, and put on my anxious face. "Please sir, are you Jiraiya-sama?"

He looked down at me with a goofy grin, the same grin as in the picture. He hadn't changed at all. "Why yes I am! And who are you, Kawiiko?" (Little one)

I almost cringed at the nickname, but caught myself in time. "I'm not that short! And my name is Aisuko. I have come looking for you, may I talk with you somewhere more private?"

Jiraiya laughed and nodded his head. We walked through the village silently. Jiraiya stopped in front of an apartment building, and I followed him inside. "Well, little Aisuko-kun, what can I do for you?"

We sat down at his dining table, and I told him of my sick father. "And so you see, I really need some toad oil to save my father, and I was told that you are a master of toads!" I finished.

Jiraiya was looking sympathetic. "I'll do it, how much do you need, kid?" He asked me as he bit his fingers and did some hand signs.

"Oh thank you so much! I only need a cup or so." I told him.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Jiraiya yelled at put his hand on the floor. A toad appered there.

"Hello Jiraiya-sama and guest. What can I do for you?" The toad asked, and I put on a properly awed expresion.

"Yes, thank you. I need a gallon of toad oil please," Jiraiya told the toad and held out a flask to it.

The toad nodded and spit out a gallon of toad oil into the flask. "Will that be all, Jiraiya-sama?" The toad asked. He nodded, and the toad poofed away.

Jiraiya put the top on and handed me the flask. "Thank you so much! This will surely help my father! I don't have anything to pay you with now, but could you tell me what you will be doing, so that I may find you and repay you?" I gushed out at him. Now was the crucial point, if he said he didn't need payment, I was toast.

Jiraiya nodded. "Thank you for offering to pay me, and I would be lying if I said I won't need the money. Soon I will be taking long trips out of the Leaf Village, because I am looking for Orichimaru's hideouts, you know him?" Jiraiya asked me when my eyes went wide. I nodded at him.

"Well, I'll be staying here when I'm not out, so you can come back whenever you're ready. If I'm not here, you can just drop it off, okay?" He asked me.

I smiled at him. "Yes, of course. Thank you so much for all your help. May I ask you one more question?" Jiraiya nodded. "Do you know this woman?" I held out a picture of my mother that I kept with me, so I would know her when I saw her and would be able to kill her.

His eyes widened and he nodded. "Nana-chan. The only woman I didn't use protection with while I was doing my research. Why do you ask? Do you know her?"

I kept my face impassive as I nodded my head. Inside my mind was on overdrive. _So this man really is my father! Should I tell him? _"Yes, I do know her. She, she is my mother."

Jiraiya's eyes got even more wide and he stared at me. "My father left us before she knew she was pregnant, so we don't blame him for leaving, even though times were tough for a while. But now Mother has married and things are easier. It's nice to finally meet you... Father." I gave him a tiny smile.

Jiraiya looked at me. And looked, and looked. "But... but she said. Nana-chan told me she wasn't pregnant when I left!"

I smiled at him. "She must not have known then."

Jiraiya shook his head. Horror and sadness on his face. He reached out to me and whispered, "I'm so sorry. So very sorry Aisuko-chan," Then he fainted.

I caught him before he reached the ground and chuckled. I placed him on a nearby couch, and put the note from the Hokage on his chest. Then I took the flask of toad oil, which had been laying on the floor, and headed back to the Hokage's office.

"Enter," A voice said when I knocked on the Hokage's door. I went in and saw the Naruto boy standing there, with another person holding onto the back of his shirt. The stranger had black hair in a ponytail, and a scar across his nose. I smiled and nodded at Naruto who looked like he really didn't want to be there.

"Thank you for allowing me to enter the village, Hokage-sama. I have found what I needed and more." I held up my toad oil flask.

He smiled at me. "Your very welcome. You are welcome anytime in this village, and my best wishes to your father."

I nodded, and headed out of the room, Naruto still staring at me. Then I headed home. I had a lot to tell Otou-san.

Jiraiya's POV

I woke up in my house, lying on my couch. What happened? Then I sat bolt upright, remembering everything. I groaned. I had a daughter. I left her, when I didn't even know about her. I had to find her! The Hokage! The Hokage will know where she went!

Five minutes later, I burst into Sarutobi's office. "Sarutobi! I have a crisis!" I yelled as I entered. He broke off his conversation with Kakashi and looked at me, his eyebrows raised.

"Hey Jiraiya, back for some more drinking?" Sarutobi asked me.

"Not now, I have something else I need to do. Sarutobi, do you know where that girl went? Aisuko? She must have come to see you." I asked him, my voice rising.

He looked at me. "No idea. She isn't a resident of the village, so I don't know where she went. Why? Did she not pay you for the oil?" He teased.

I quickly filled him in on what I knew about her. "So, I need to find her ! She's my daughter! Ah, what do I do!" I panted.

Kakashi stared at me, along with the Hokage. Kakashi stepped forwards, "I can track her if you like, Hokage."

Sarutobi looked at Kakashi. Then he nodded. "Come back soon," He told us.

Kakashi and I headed to the gates, not talking. When we got there. Kakashi did some hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A group of dogs appeared before us.

"Guys, I need to track the newest scent on this path, should be feminine." Kakashi told them.

"You got it Kakashi! Alright everybody, split up and search!" Pakkun yelled. The dogs ran off.

Kakashi looked at me. "Well, I don't know what to say Jiraiya, congratulations?"

I laughed, bitterly. "I don't know either Kakashi. I just know that I need to talk to her again," I told him. The dogs soon ran back to us.

"Kakashi, she's moving fast. She also noticed us when we tried to catch up, I don't think both you and Jiraiya could follow her," Pakkun told us.

Kakashi looked at me. "I'll bring her back, Jiraiya. I promise," He said before jumping after Pakkun, to fast for me to follow. I screamed my frustration, but went back home anyway. What more could I do?

**Aww, poor Jiraiya, having a baby without knowing? That really sucks. And, to make things worse, Kakashi just up and left without him!**

**: ) please review! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi! Everyone who has been reading this, I thank you for your patience. I'm sorry to say this, but I had to make some changes to chapter three, so **

**PLEASE RE-READ CHAPTER THREE!**

**If you don't, you will probably be very confused in the chapters to come. Basically I got Naruto's timing wrong. He and the others should still be in the academy. Therefore, not know Jiraiya yet, or be team 7.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, and wouldn't want to. Also, Aisuko was created with the help of Tikarose.**

_Recap__:_

_Kakashi looked at me. "I'll bring her back, Jiraiya. I promise," He said before jumping after Pakkun, to fast for me to follow. I screamed my frustration, but went back home anyway. What more could I do?_

_Aisuko's POV_

I ran as fast as I could, away from the Leaf Village, and towards home. I had felt some chakra signatures approach me, so I had sped up, but they were gone now. I slowed down some.

As I was running, I caught sight of a small river, and went to go take a bath. I stripped down and jumped into the freezing water. The cold never bothered me, and the water was welcome to clean all the sweat and dirt of my body. Next I washed my hair, and managed to get all the dye off.

I frowned when I thought about going home again. While I wanted to see Otou-san, I knew that he might still be acting distant and cold. I also didn't think the news of my father would make him any happier.

Also, there was Kabuto to worry about. A short while after I got my curse mark, a man named Kabuto had entered the hideout. At first I thought he was okay until he asked Otou-san if he could do some experiments on me.

I had been so sure that Otou-san would say no and kick him out. That's why I was shocked when he had just said yes, while shooting a glare at me.

Since then, I had been subject to all manor of torture, whenever Kabuto had something new he wanted to try out. He made sure none of the affects were permanent, but that didn't make them painless.

I sighed and took out my contacts. I had no reason to dwell on it now. I got out of the river and used a small water jutsu to dry myself. I got dressed and headed home.

When I entered the hideout, Otou-san and Kabuto were waiting for me in the training room. I smiled and ran to hug Otou-san, but he pushed me off of him. "Well? Was the mission a success?" Otou-san asked me, staring at me with cold, hard eyes.

"Hai! I have more toad oil than we expected, and more news of Jiraiya than we expected, Otou-san," I answered him, beaming. I stopped when I noticed how fake it was.

Kabuto held out his hand for the toad oil, and I handed it to him. "Jiraiya told me that he is looking for your hideouts, and that when he isn't, he will be in the Leaf Village," I told Otou-san. "I also found out, I found out that Jiraiya is my biological father."

Neither Kabuto nor Otou-san looked even mildly surprised at this news. Otou-san looked at me with a sneer, "Well, well. The Toad Summoner's daughter, eh? _Freak_. I don't know why I took you in anymore. I thought I could make you into a strong, hard killer. Instead you're just a flimsy, happy-go-lucky girl. Kabuto, I'm sorry, but your experiment must go to one of the prisoners, I'm going to kill this bitch."

I could only stand there, shocked. Normally I would wince, and bow my head. This time though, this time all I could do was stare. Otou-san dragged me outside, muttering. "Childish girl can't even stand up on her own. Won't even fight back. You disgust me."

_You disgust me. You disgust me_. The words echoed in my head over and over. I just stood there as Otou-san threw me to the ground. Could only watch from someone else's eyes as he beat me to an inch of my life. Finally he stuck me with his sword, from the top left side of my scalp, to the middle of my cheek. It was a miracle that it missed my eye.

My world faded from view as I passed out from blood loss. I didn't even try to heal or defend myself. The last thing I saw before I blacked out completely was Otou-san's disgusted face, as if I was worse than his worst nightmare come to life.

Visions came to me as I was unconscious. The one man that I had given my life to, my heart to. Otou-san, _no_, Orichimaru had been my life, my universe. He was the sun, moon, and stars. He was _me_. But then, in the space of a few hours, that had all disappeared.

I felt as though my heart had been ripped out of my chest, stabbed, roasted, and then fed to the vultures circling above it. I had thought that I could never go through anything more painful than the curse mark, I was wrong. I would gladly go through two hundred curse marks than go through this.

Slowly, oh so very slowly, the pain started to fade. I reasoned with myself. Orichimaru was actually a horrible man, once I got passed the Otou-san part of him. _Ouch, don't say Otou-san_. He kept prisoners, tortured them. Tortured _me_.

I thought long and hard, and came to the conclusion that Orichimaru could never have cared about me. He was only interested in my bloodline. After he saw it, he had no more use of it. Sure, it was powerful as hell, but you can't take a bloodline, so what more could he have done?

I had no idea how long I stayed in this dream-like state, mulling things over. My heart was by no means healed, and I couldn't even contemplate letting someone else in, but I felt as though I could deal with the pain now. It wouldn't crush me, because I accepted its presence. I was ready to wake up, wake up and face the world.

Slowly, ever so slowly my senses returned. First, I noted that I was in a bed. Not my bed, but definitely a bed. Also, I had a needle in my arm. I was in a hospital. Next was the smell. Yes, definitely a hospital, not the one at the hideout though. This one seemed more professional somehow. Next was the sounds. The beeping of my heart monitor, and then voices.

"... We won't know about brain damage until she waked up. Other than that, she is okay. Surprisingly, she only had bruises and cuts, which were easy to heal. The only mark she will have is the scar on her face," A female voice said. I assumed it was the nurse. "Oh, and look at that, she's waking now."

"Thank you, Satchi-san. Please leave us now." A male, and hoarse sounding voice said. Wait, I knew that voice...oh! It was the Hokage. So I am in the Leaf Village.

I opened my eyes when I heard the door close. I looked around, and my assumptions were all correct. The Hokage sat in a chair next to my bed.

"Good morning, Aisuko. In case you were wondering, you're in Konoha Hospital. Kakashi-san found you, beaten and bloody, and brought you here. You've been asleep for ten days," The Hokage, and my eyes widened. _They saved me?_

"If you didn't hear the nurse, all of your cuts and bruises have healed, except the scar on your face. Care to tell me what happened, and who you really are? We need to know this, to see if you are a threat to this village, and I would love it if you would just tell me, please." The Hokage spoke in a voice that wasn't judgmental, or angry. It was calm, and honestly curious.

I thought it over. I knew that they would kill me after I told them who I was anyway. I might as well not be tortured before I died as well. I opened my mouth to tell him everything, my whole life story if he wanted, but all that came out was a huff of air.

My eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. I tried again, and got the same result. I looked towards the Hokage, who looked concerned. My eyes begged him to understand, I was trying to tell him. I pointed to my throat and shrugged, imploring him to understand me.

"You need water? I can tell you're having trouble speaking. Are you really trying to tell me everything?" The Hokage looked shocked, even as he said that. It seemed as though he thought I would have resisted.

Carefully, I shook my head at the first question, and nodded to the Hokage looked confused. "Why won't you speak then?"

I shook my head, frustrated. _Not _won't_, its _can't _speak, bakka. _If possible, the Hokage looked even more confused than before. Then, his face brightened. He pushed a button that said 'Nurse'. We waited in silence.

A nurse came into the room five minutes later, and apologized for the wait. "Don't worry about it. The previous nurse had told me that there might be brain damage, but we wouldn't know until the patient woke up. Can we check for that now?" The Hokage asked the nurse.

She nodded and smiled. "Do you have a general idea of what might be wrong?" She asked politely.

"Yes, I think there is something wrong with her speech," Sarutobi told the girl.

"Hai! I'll check on that right away, Hokage-sama." The nurse bowed and walked towards me, her hand glowing green and a gentle smile on her face.

"I'm going to put my hand on your forehead now, to check your mind for injuries. It might sting a bit, is that okay?" She asked me, sitting next to me, her hand hovering over my head.

I looked at the girl for a bit. Then I nodded slowly, and she gave me a huge smile, before firmly planting her hand on my head. Pain shot through my mind, sharp as a knife, but I didn't react. After the curse mark, Kabuto's experiments, and Orichimaru's own form of torture, this was a picnic in a park.

After a few minutes of silence, the nurse drew her hand back with a mix between a hiss of anger, and a moan of sympathy. I knew it was bad now. The nurse girl looked at me, her eyes wide with empathy. "Oh, honey. Whoever did this to you deserves to rot," I winced at that, and I hoped no one noticed, it didn't look like they did. "The blow has damaged the part of your brain that controls speech. It is to deep in the brain to operate on without killing you. I hate to tell you this, but I'm afraid that you'll never be able to speak again."

**How was that? Poor Aisuko-chan, right? First her mom, the Orichimaru, then Kabuto, and now speech! Life really seems to hate her. Please review! I would love you ; )**


	5. Chapter 5

_Recap:_

_"The blow has damaged the part of your brain that controls speech. It is to deep in the brain to operate on without killing you. I hate to tell you this, but I'm afraid that you'll never be able to speak again."_

I blinked. What? I blinked again. The nurse looked at me, sympathy evident in her eyes.

I shook my head, and opened my mouth again to tell her so was wrong, that I can talk, but all that came out was another huff of air.

My eyes widened in horror. Then I closed my eyes. I took several deep breathes, and accepted it. _This is just another in your series of misfortunes. _

I looked apologetically at the Hokage, who was now also looking at me with sympathy. I shrugged. "Well, Aisuko, I have another way of communicating with you. If you can't speak outside your mind, I'll just have to send someone into your mind. Don't worry, he wont hurt you. I'll just have him look through your memories. He will also keep the information he finds between himself, and me. I assure you, not even the elders will know of your past. Do you consent?"

I looked at him, and knew that if I didn't, I would be kicked out of this village. Anyway, I had nothing to hide from these people, even if the idea of someone else going through my mind made me blanch. I nodded.

"Thank you. If you will follow me to the interrogation room then. Nurse, thank you for your help. Aisuko can leave now, right?" The Hokage asked, smiling.

"Yes, she may. I'm sorry about your speech though, Aisuko." The nurse smiled at me, and I smiled back and nodded.

"I'll give you a few minutes in here, Aisuko. We took the things that you had on you when you were picked up, and its all in here. Except your weapons, if we find you trustworthy, you will get them back. Come out when you're ready." The Hokage smiled and left the room while I nodded.

I got out of bed slowly; wincing from my headache. Surprisingly, nothing else on my body hurt, and I was glad. I walked over to the pile of stuff on the table next to my bed, and sighed in relief when I saw that several piles of my clothes were there, as well as my sword sheath, and weapons pouch; both were empty.

I pulled on my clothes, and strapped my sheath and weapons pouch on. I ran a comb through my hair, and walked out of the room.

"Ah, Aisuko, are you ready?" I nodded to the Hokage. "Follow me then."

I followed the Hokage into his office, and we sat down on two chairs facing each other, in between them was his desk. A man soon walked into the office and bowed.

"Thank you, Yamanaka-san. This is Aisuko. We need to know if she is a threat to the village, but she is definatly not an enemy, so be gentle with her."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. Aisuko-san, this won't hurt, and I have made a blood promise not to pass on any information I find unless you give your permission. I really do apologize the intrusion to your mind." The man smiled kindly, and I smiled back and nodded to him.

He walked towards me, and sat down on the chair next to me. "Mind-transfer Jutsu!" He yelled as he thrust his hands towards me in a hand seal.

I opened my eyes, and I was back in the house where I was first born. I looked over, and there was three year old me, sitting in my crib. Next to me stood Yamananka,he was intently focused on the scene in front of him.

Images of my past flew by us, but somehow it was all easy to understand. We watched as I grew up, 12 years old in about twelve minutes. Finally we reached Orichimaru's betrayal of me. Then it all ended.

I opened my eyes once again, and found that I was in the Hokage's office again. The Hokage looked patient, and the man who had looked through my mind was crying silently. "Your permission to tell the Hokage what I know about you, Aisuko-chan?"

My eyes widened at the nickname, but this man knew my entire life, first hand. He deserved it. I smiled at him and nodded my head.

I tuned him out as he spilled my life story to the Hokage. "Well Aisuko-san," I jumped when the Hokage said my name and turned to him. "You may stay in this village, from what I understand, you are strong enough to be in the ANBU back ops. Would you like to become a Jounin ninja of the leaf village?"

My eyes widened even more. I slowly nodded my head as a grin spread across my face. The Hokage smiled to, and handed me a leaf ninja head-band, as well as my weapons.

I felt complete as I filled my weapon pouch and slid my sword into its scabbard. Then I reached out for my headband and signaled for Yamananka to tie it around my neck, then raised my eyebrows. _Will you tie my headband around my neck? _

Yamananka smiled and nodded,and took my headband and tied it there.

"Okay, Aisuko-san. I have your first mission already. Tomorrow, some students will be graduating from the ninja academy, and you are to help teach one of the squads that are to become genin."

I smiled and nodded. My first mission! "Don't worry though, you won't teach them alone. To completely prove that we can trust you, you will help Kakashi Hatake to teach team 7. Kakashi, come in."

I turned around as the door opened, and looked at the man who would be my partner for many years to come. "Kakashi, this is Aisuko-san. She will be assisting you to teach team 7. She can't speak, though you two are of the same rank. Aisuko is also our newest ANBU member, and I need you to take her down there to get her mask, and tattoo. She's new here, so she doesn't know her way around."

Kakashi's eyes moved from the Hokage, to me. He held out his hand to me, and smiled behind his mask. "Kakashi Hatake, nice to meet you Aisuko."

I shook his hand and bowed, startled when I felt a finger under my chin. Kakashi made me look him in the eye and said: "Now we are in the same rank, I don't want you to bow just because I'm older than you. Shall we go get your mask now?"

I looked up at him, my eyes wide and bright with unshed tears. When had anyone been so nice to me before? Why was he being nice? I looked like a monster with my red eyes and white hair.

He bowed to the Hokage, and I clumsily did the same as I followed this strangely nice man into the hallway.

"So, Aisuko. Where are you from?" Kakashi asked me as we walked out of the building.

I opened my mouth to answer, but all that came out was a rush of air. I sighed and looked at him, my eyebrows raised. _How do you expect me to answer that?_

"Oh! Right, sorry." Kakashi smiled behind his mask, and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

I smiled back and shrugged. "Ah, here we are." I looked in front of us and saw a building that said ANBU HQ on the front.

We walked in, and immediately two ANBU members were in front of us. One with a cat mask, the other had a bird.

"What is your business here? This is for ANBU members only, Kakashi-san." Cat asked us.

"I am here because the girl has been offered an ANBU position, and we need her mask and tattoo." Kakashi held out my papers when Bird held out his hand for them.

"Alright. These look real. Kakashi-san, if you would wait outside? We will be finished in about fifteen minutes. Aisuko-san, follow us." Kakashi nodded to me and walked outside, and I followed Bird and Cat down the hallway, and into a new room.

The room had nothing but two tables and two chairs in it. On one table there were quite a few balls of clay on it. The other table had several needles on it, as well as two chairs next to it.

"Aisuko-san. Would you like to get your mask first? Or your tattoo?" Bird asked me, and I could hear that he was smiling kindly behind his mask.

I pointed to the table with needles on it, wanting the pain to be over with. Cat nodded and sat down on one of the chairs, and motioned for me to sit on the other one.

"This will hurt a bit, Aisuko-san." I nodded, and Cat began tattooing my arm, while I suppressed my bloodline that wanted to protect me from the needle in my skin.

"With this tattoo, you are making a blood oath to always carry out a mission to the best of your abilities. To never speak or hint to whatever knowledge you are given that directly proceeds to your mission. Also, you swear your undying loyalty to this village, and its best interests to keep it safe, even if it means your life."

Cat finished tattooing me, just as Bird stopped speaking. I looked at my shoulder and grinned. I liked it, and it didn't hurt nearly as much as my curse mark did.

"You ready to get your mask now?" Bird asked me, and I nodded and smiled at them.

"Alright then. Pick out a clay ball that you like the look of, and just pour some of your chakara into it." Cat told me, and they stood a respectful distance away, while I looked for a ball of clay that I liked.

I grabbed one that looked pretty, and did as Cat had told me. The clay lit up, and I felt it moving, shifting, and drying as I poured chakara into it.

The light faded and I looked down at my creation. I gasped and smiled. It was a wolf mask, and it had ice colored snowflakes falling down one side of its face. It was lovely.

"Well done, Wolf-san. You are now officially an ANBU member. Do your village proud." Bird told me, and I smiled at them both. "Also, your ANBU tattoo is also a storage seal for your mask."

"The exit is the third door on your right. If you would excuse us though, we have other things we must do, sorry." Cat told me, and I smiled again and nodded.

I followed her instructions and walked out of the building, and turned to see Kakashi smiling at me.

"Did you get a good mask?" He asked me, and I smiled proudly as I held it out for him to see.

"Very nice, Wolf-san!" He laughed as I put the mask into my tattoo.

"Well, you look drop-dead exhausted. Shall I take you to your apartment so you can get some rest before I come by tomorrow? We have to meet our new genin then, so you want to be at your best." I nodded gratefully to him, and followed him slowly as we made our way through the village.

I didn't have the energy to take it all in, but I'm sure people would understand. Kakashi stopped abruptly, and my ice flashed quickly to help me avoid running into him.

He raised an eyebrow at what he saw, but didn't ask. "We're here. This is your room key, and it should be on the second floor, third door on the left. I'll come by around noon tomorrow, and we'll go meet our teammates then shall we? Sleep well, Aisuko-san."

He walked away, and I smiled at his back. What a nice man. Then I turned around and faced my new enemy. Stairs.

I sighed and climbed them anyway. One agonizing step after another. Finally, I reached the second floor, and trudged into my room. I threw my backpack of stuff into a corner, and walked into the bathroom to take a shower, not even taking in my new room.

I gasped at the face I saw in the mirror. It was still me, but my scar was was an angry red mark going down the side of my face, narrowly missing my eye and going from the middle of my forehead, to the middle of my cheek.

As I continued to look at it, I kind of liked it. The scar softened what had once been ice cold, monstrous beauty. Before I had the scar, my face had been terrible to look at. Its colors were monstrous, but it had been a sort of scary beauty. Now, it seemed softer somehow. Actually able to be touched and real. I smiled and laughed when I realized that my mask's snowflakes were in the same line as my scar.

After one more look at myself, I climbed into the shower and got ready for bed. My eyes were closed before my head even hit the pillow. My night-light winking happily in the corner for the whole night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I'm back with the next chapter! Please review :)**

_Recap__:_

_As I continued to look at it, I kind of liked it. The scar softened what had once been ice cold, monstrous beauty. Before I had the scar, my face had been terrible to look at. Its colors were monstrous, but it had been a sort of scary beauty. Now, it seemed softer somehow. Actually able to be touched and real. I smiled and laughed when I realized that my mask's snowflakes were in the same line as my scar._

_After one more look at myself, I climbed into the shower and got ready for bed. My eyes were closed before my head even hit the pillow. My night-light winking happily in the corner for the whole night._

A never ending knocking woke me up. It pounded through my brain, and I groggily crawled out of bed, and over to the door.

I threw open the door, giving a death glare to whoever woke me up this early in the morning. It was Kakashi. "Hi, good afternoon Aisuko-san. Did I wake you up?"

I sighed and nodded, opening the door further to let him into the room. "Oh, nice room."

I raised my eyebrows and looked around for the first time. There was a bed in one corner, with a small table next to it with a lamp on it. A chest of doors stood in another corner, and the door to the bathroom near the other corner. Also there was a small kitchenette with a table and two chairs in it through some doors.

I shrugged and nodded. I grabbed my ninja outfit and headed for the bathroom to change. "I'll see what food they have in your kitchen while you get ready okay?" I heard Kakashi call as I closed the door.

After my shower I slowly dressed myself, and walked back into my one room apartment to be greeted by wonderful smells. I breathed deeply through my nose and smiled in appreciation.

"Aisuko-san? You done in the shower? I made breakfast." Kakashi came out of my tiny kitchen grinning. "They really stocked your fridge."

I smiled at him in thanks, and walked over to the table where there were two sets of dishes and food. We sat down across from each other, and I smiled again.

"Thank you for the food," Kakashi said, and catching my worried look, hastily added: "Aisuko-san gives thanks as well."

I looked at him gratefully, and was once again confused. Why was he being nice to me? Why? I couldn't figure him out. It had been so long since I was last treated with kindness, and I didn't understand why I was being shown it now. As we ate, Kakashi told me everything he knew about team 7, including Sasuke and Naruto's stories.

Soon we finished eating, and as I cleaned up, Kakashi looked at the clock. "Hmm, interesting. Aisuko-san, we are late for our meeting." Kakashi rubbed is neck and laughed.

My eyes widened as I threw the rest of the dishes into the dishwasher. Then I ran back to my room and strapped my weapons on.

I turned back to Kakashi and nodded to show that I was ready. "Shall we, then?"

Kakashi and I walked out of the room and we flash-stepped to the academy. This time I looked around as we were running. The village really was gorgeous.

When we got there, Kakashi told me to wait on the roof and I sat on the edge of it. While I was waiting, I took out a metal kunai from my weapons pouch and grabbed the ice kunai that I formed with my mind.

Absentmindedly I began to sharpen the metal kunai with the ice kunai as I thought about my bloodline.

Basically I had full control over ice. All I have to do is imagine any liquid freezing in my mind, use a bit of chakara, and there it is. I can make the ice into any shape I wish, such as a kunai. I can even freeze the water particles in the air, which makes people think I can make my own ice. Also, the ice protects me from everything physical, even if I don't know that I was about to be attacked.** A/N: So, she has the same powers as Gaara, but she uses chakara & its a bloodline.**

Kakashi poofed into existence next to me and I nodded to him and went back to my kunai. "Well, my first impression was... I hate them." Kakashi deadpanned.

I laughed softly. Poor kids. Then I noticed that they weren't there. I raised my eyebrows at Kakashi and gestured about the roof we were sitting on from our position on the railing_. Where are the kids?_

"Oh, them? They will get here in a second." I nodded and went back to my kunai, again.

I looked up and put my kunai away when I saw three people my age walk onto the roof. The first was tallest and had dark hair and eyes. He also looked a bit gloomy, what a downer. The next was middle height and had long, pretty pink hair. She also had green eyes that seemed to notice everything. She gave me a strange look but sat down next to the dark guy on the steps anyway.

The third I recognized. He was that guy from before, what was his name? Ukezaki? Oh! Uzumaki! That was it, Uzumaki Naruto. I frowned when I saw that they were all taller than me.

He didn't even notice me as he sat on the other side of the dark and gloomy guy. "Okay! First off, lets introduce ourselves." All attention went to Kakashi.

"Hmm, what should we say?" The pink haired girl asked.

"Well, things you like, things you hate, hobbies, dreams for the future, stuff like that." Kakashi told them.

"Well, you should go first!" Uzumaki yelled and pointed at Kakashi. I sweat dropped when I realized that one out of the three of them had noticed me, and she didn't even say anything.

"Okay, my name is Hatake Kakashi. Things I like, things I hate... I don't want to tell you that. Dreams for the future? Never have time to think about it. As for hobbies, I have a lot." I raised an eyebrow at him and chuckled quietly to myself, a good ninja he was, not giving away any information.

"So, all we know is his name... Okay! My turn!" The girl yelled and began her talk. "My name is Haruno Sakura. Who I like...(insert giggle) hobbies...(insert second giggle) my dreams...(insert giggle that escalates into squeal)." All that was said while looking at the dark guy. I sweat dropped.

"Alright, things you hate?" Kakashi asked the blushing girl.

"Hmmm, NARUTO!" She yelled. I raised my eyebrows. Naruto fell to the floor.

"Okay, my turn!" Naruto yelled, better again. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like instant ramen in a cup, and I hate the three minutes I need before I can eat the ramen. My hobbies are comparing different types of ramen! My dream for the future is to become the next Hokage, and make everyone in the village acknowledge me!" I raised my eyebrows again, he grew up interestingly. Then I jumped as Mr. Doom and Gloom began to speak.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I have many dislikes, and only a few likes. My dream for the future is not a dream, but an ambition. It is to, without fail, kill a certain man." At this I saw Naruto gulp, and I laughed quietly, but it made Sasuke and Naruto notice me for the first time.

"Who are you?" The Uchiha asked me, coldly.

"I was wondering the same thing." Came from Haruno, who was looking at me oddly.

Naruto's face scrunched up in thought, and I smirked when I realized that he didn't recognize me because of my scar. Then his face brightened. "You ! You were the one asking about that Jiraino guy, right?"

I smiled and nodded. I don't think Kakashi knew who we were talking about, and I was glad. I wasn't ready to talk with my father, and if Kakashi remembered, he might make me go see him.

"That still doesn't answer who she is? Are you one of the younger students from the academy?" Sakura asked me.

My eyes widened in anger, and I was about to flip her off before Kakashi grabbed my hand. I snarled at him, just because I was small, didn't mean I was young!

Kakashi chuckled. "She doesn't know any better, come on." I sighed and stopped snarling, he took his hand away.

"No, she is not from the academy Sakura. This is Aisuko. She will be helping me train you guys, she is a jounin and ANBU black ops member. She is of equal rank of me, and so even though you are the same age, you will treat her with respect and follow her orders as much as mine." Kakashi told them.

All three of them looked at me in awe. Then Uchiha scoffed. "There's no way someone that young could be that strong. I bet I could beat her in one move."

I struggled to hold in my temper, but the temperature dropped several degrees anyway. I lowered my head so my bangs covered my eyes. That way they wouldn't see the hurt. But my hurt was quickly being eaten by anger, if he said another thing, I might hurt him.

Kakashi's eyes widened. "Sasuke, stop. She is strong enough to take me down in a second, and trained hard to get there, she deserves your respect."

The others just stood there and watched with wide eyes, Haruno shivered.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she could take you down. You didn't even win against an eraser. Anyway, if she's so strong, why doesn't she speak for herself? Or is she so young that she still needs to hide behind her _Pappie_?" Uchiha sneered.

At the word Pappie, I lost it. This guy had _no idea _of the _hell _I had been through in my life! The temperature dropped to the negatives, and I could see my breath along with everyone else's.

I flash stepped so fast that not even a sharingan or byakuyan eye could follow me. I stopped briefly by Uchiha to grab him by the neck, and then I slammed him into the wall behind us. Despite the fact that I was really short, I could still lift him up and hold him against the wall be his neck.

I lifted my head so he could see my murderous red eyes, and smirked when I saw that he looked scared. Silently, I let my chakara to seep into him, cooling down his core temperature and giving him instant hypothermia.

"Aisuko-san, please. I know you're angry, but you shouldn't kill him. You're supposed to prove yourself, right?" Kakashi asked me.

I saw the reason in him and released the Uchiha, who crumpled to the floor, shivering. The air temperature went back to normal.

"Sasuke-kun!" Haruno yelled and ran to his side.

I raised an eyebrow when I saw that his condition was actually serious. I sighed, time to break out the medical jutsu. I knelt on the other side of the Uchiha and allowed my hands to glow green while Haruno watched me with worried eyes.

Uzumaki also walked closer, curious as to what I was doing. As I raised his core temperature, the Uchiha spoke. "W-why wont-t you s-s-speak?"

I sighed and shook my head at him. "Aisuko-san can't speak, her brain was damaged when she got that scar, and as a result, she is unable to speak. The damage is unable to be opperated on also, so she will be like this forever. Sasuke, before you try to provoke someone else, you should learn about them, if you don't, you could end up cutting deeper than you wanted to."

I smiled at Uchiha to show that I was no longer angry at him. His temperature was fine now, so I moved my hands to the bruises on his neck.

When I was done I stood and was about to offer my hand to him, but smiled and let Haruno do it instead, she seemed to like him.

"So, Aisuko, what happened? Last time I saw you, you were talking fine and looked like you had no ninja skills at all. Were you on an undercover mission?" His eyes gleamed. "Your hair and eyes were different to, so it must have been!"

"Naruto, Aisuko just got to this village. There was no way she was on a mission." Kakashi looked at Naruto with his eyebrow raised.

"No, I really saw her! Right Aisuko?" Naruto yelled.

I paused in my thinking. _I think its time I tell Kakashi of my past. I need to take him to see the Hokage. _

Ignoring Naruto, I went to Kakashi and pointed to him, then to me, and then to the Hokage's office. _We need to go see the Hokage._

"What about the Hokage's office, Aisuko?" Kakashi looked at me funny, along with everyone else. Naruto was still talking to himself about me.

I did the same motions again, sighing. Why did I have to be bad at sign language?

"No, Aisuko, our next mission is tomorrow." Kakashi shook his head at me and I groaned.

Finally I just threw Kakashi onto my back, then turned and waved to the surprised genin, who dumbly waved back. I grabbed the scroll out of my pocket, telling them to meet us tomorrow. Then I just flash-stepped to the Hokage's office.

I let Kakashi off my back when we got there, and he had been to surprised to struggle at all on the way there. "Oh, you wanted to visit the Hokage. Oops."

I sighed, and we walked into his room. "Ah, hello Aisuko and Kakashi. What can I do for you? I trust your team is okay?"

Kakashi and I nodded. Then I stepped up as Kakashi still didn't know why we were there. This would be hard to convey.

Frowning, I pointed to my head, then the Hokage's head, and then to Kakashi's head. _Please tell Kakashi of my past._

The Hokage looked confused. "Sorry, I was never good at charades. Kakashi, you don't know why you're here either, do you?"

Kakashi shook his head and they both watched me as I tried again. I made the hand sign that Yamanaka had done before. The Hokage's face brightened in recognition, but then went back to confused, along with sadness at the memory of that day. "What about that time, Aisuko?"

Kakashi looked really confused, but I could tell the Hokage was about to get it. Again I pointed at his mind, then his mouth, and then Kakashi's ear.

The Hokage looked shocked. "You want me to tell Kakashi of your past?" Kakashi's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. All he knew of my past was that I wasn't from this village.

I smiled and nodded at the Hokage, glad he figured it out. "All of it?" I nodded to him. "Even the bit about your mother?" My smile faltered at the mention of her, but I still nodded. "Okay then, I will. But I wont leave out a single detail, right down to names and dates, just like Yamanaka told me. Kakashi, you must make a blood promise that you wont disclose any of this information without Aisuko's direct permission. You can't even hint about it. The only people that know of Aisuko's past are those involved in it, Yamanaka, myself, and now you. Understand?"

Kakashi nodded, still looking shocked and began to make his blood vow. While he did this, I put up sound barriers around the room. Then all of us sat down in the room as the Hokage recounted my past. Me flinching at the hard bits, and the Hokage crying silently.

When the Hokage was finished, several hours later, I was the only person not crying. I refused to cry in front of other people.

"A-Aisuko, what can I say? What should I do? Is-is this why you got so ups-upset when Sasuke said that?" Kakashi slurred and stuttered through his speech.

I sighed and looked up to the open sky. We had left the office silently, and he was walking with me as I walked aimlessly around the village.

I looked at Kakashi and nodded. "Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to go bring back Jiraiya for you? He's out on a mission now, but I'll find him if you want me to."

I smiled at him and shook my head. Then I stopped when I noticed where we were. We were in a clearing in a forest, and there was a large memorial stone in the middle, with lots of names on it.

Slowly and silently we walked towards the stone. I sat down next to it, freezing the mud so it didn't get on our clothes. Kakashi nodded his head in thanks, threw his coat on top of his portion of frozen mud so he didn't get cold, and sat down.

It was calm as I studied the names before me. "Uchiha Obito..." Kakashi's voice startled me, but I didn't let it show, as I silently listened to him speak. "He was my teammate, my friend, and its my fault that he and Rin died."

Kakashi haltingly relayed his past to me, and I finally filled in the paint of the big picture of the man behind the mask. When he was finished, it was around dinner time, but neither of us made a move to leave.

"Aisuko, why don't you cry? From what I've heard, you haven't shed a single tear." Kakashi asked me.

There he was, being nice again! I felt tears welling in my eyes. _No! Orichimaru says a good person is a strong person. And a strong person never cries! _The thought of Orichimaru made me want to cry more.

"Aisuko, let yourself go. You can do it, I know you're strong enough to." Kakashi's voice was gentle, soft, and caring. Everything that I always wanted.

Flashes of my memories went before my eyes as I struggled with all my might not to cry. But, did Kakashi just say you have to be strong to cry? No, he got it wrong. Its strong not to cry. I shook my head, wanting to correct him.

"Aisuko, I believe in you. Its strength to allow yourself to cry in front of others. It takes strength to show that you care about your life, but I'm trying to help you with it. Let me take some of the burden off your shoulders. Its to heavy for anyone to hold alone, but you've been doing that your whole life. Don't you think its time you allow yourself to be free?" Kakashi asked me, patient as ever.

His words struck me, hard. I felt something slide down my cheek slowly, and I tried in vain to take it back.

I bear this burden alone, can't he see that? Here he's telling me that I don't have to anymore. Why can't I just let him take some of it? _Because Pappie told you never to cry. _So I was going through all of this pain because of Orichimaru.

I continued to let him torture me, even after he was gone from my life. I couldn't listen to him anymore, and I wanted so badly, _so badly _to cry. I thought I wasn't ready to let anyone in yet, but this man, who I thought of as an older brother came along and effortlessly kicked down the doors that boxed me in.

I gasped as a few more tears fell, and next thing that I knew, I was in a fetal position, rocking back and forth, sobbing into my knees. I knew I shouldn't do it, I wasn't allowed to cry.

But I was ready to. I was ready to let go of my past, and even though it would always be a part of me, I was ready to look back at it and admit that it happened. But first I had to face it, which is what I was doing now.

I was no longer in the forest clearing, I was in my memories, and they were surrounding me, suffocating me. I couldn't do it! I couldn't face them! I was all alone, dying in a pool if my own memories and the salty water of my tears. I gasped for breath, but the memories were to close, and I couldn't breathe. I would die here, in my own mind, all alone.

But then strong arms circled me, and I remembered that I wasn't alone. Kakashi was here, he could help me confront my past, and he _wanted _to. I gasped in a breath, and the memories started to organize themselves, listening to my commands. Even as I sat, curled up in Kakashi's arms, crying my eyes out, my memories listened to me.

For once in my life, I controlled them, not the other way around. I smiled through my tears and snuggled closer to my brother.

Finally, it was all over. I had won, and Kakashi had been with me the whole time.

I opened my sore eyes and took in my surroundings. We were still in the clearing, but instead of me in Kakashi's lap, Kakashi had his head in my lap and was sleeping soundly. I smiled, but now I did need to find water, and I thought I heard a stream nearby.

I replaced my lap with Kakashi's jounin vest and hopped off to the stream. I washed myself and scrubbed my face before drying, putting my clothes on and heading back to my brother, feeling like a whole new person.

What Kakashi had said earlier about his past struck me again. I felt sorry for him, he hadn't had an easy life either. Then what I had thought after he finished struck me also. _I finally filled in the paint of the big picture of the man behind the mask. _

I wanted to paint that, and give it to Kakashi-nii-san as a thank you gift. I reached into my weapons pouch and pulled out my storage seal.

I pulled all my painting supplies out of it, and began my work. I painted the inside of a jail cell with the view of someone standing against the back wall, facing the door. But it wasn't an ordinary jail cell, because the door wasn't made of bars, instead it was made of pure black metal, with only a small slit in the door. Through the slit poured bright light, illuminating the room.

On the ceiling and walls I painted with bright, happy colors, the very essence of peace, and happiness. It was joyful and wonderful, but also tranquil and strong. On the floor though, there were dark colors speaking of anger and hate. But on top of the anger, the dark colors portrayed sadness. A deep, bone-cutting sadness that threatened to swallow anyone who stepped on it whole. The floor carried the core of sadness so intense no one could describe it.

There was also a black bench in the cell. On the bench sat Kakashi, leaning his head back against the wall. His eyes held sadness, deep intense sadness that reflected the floor. But shining through the upset was happiness. Along with hope and peace, happiness overwhelmed the sadness and allowed a small smile onto his maskless face.

I sat back and looked at my work, nodding with a satisfied grin. I stretched and put my paint supplies away, now just waiting for the paint to dry before I woke Kakashi-nii-san.

I looked behind me when I heard a twig crack and nearly screamed when I saw Kakashi-nii-san right there. I sighed and put a hand over my racing heart as he smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I woke up and found you painting. I wanted to watch."

My shock was quickly overcome by worry. My face scrunched together as I wondered if he liked it. I pointed to the painting and then to him, raising my eyebrows. _Do you like it?_

"Its wonderful Aisuko-imouto." I blushed at the name but smiled brightly anyway.

I frowned and pointed to his mask, wondering if he understood that he didn't have a mask in the picture because the jail cell _was _the mask.

He smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, imouto. I get it."

I smiled and snuggled into his arms as he studied the picture some more. Soon I was asleep, but my smile stayed with me the whole time.

**Aw! That was so sad, long, happy, and depressing! Haha, please review. Also, I would be happy to describe the meaning behind the painting if you don't get it, I thought I made it clear, but I'm often wrong. Thanks! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Next chapter! **

_Recap:_

_"Its wonderful Aisuko-imouto." I blushed at the name but smiled brightly anyway._

_I frowned and pointed to his mask, wondering if he understood that he didn't have a mask in the picture because the jail cell was the mask._

_He smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, imouto. I get it."_

_I smiled and snuggled into his arms as he studied the picture some more. Soon I was asleep, but my smile stayed with me the whole time._

I woke up to someone gently shaking me. "Aisuko, its time to wake up now!" Kakashi told me as I opened my red eyes to look into his lazy black one.

I nodded my head and sat up slowly. We were still in the clearing and Kakashi was sitting next to me, his silver hair was damp so I guessed he had taken a cold bath in the small stream nearby.

"Do you want to go get breakfast, and then meet up with our team?" Kakashi asked me, tilting his head to the side a bit.

I smiled and nodded, maybe I could see more of the village this way. I followed him as we walked through the village that was just waking up. People walking along and sweeping their doorstep looked strangley at me, making me feel like an intruder.

I took a step closer to Kakashi from my position just behind him, making it clear that I was walking with him, and I wasn't alone. Some of the glares intensified, but most backed off.

"So, Aisuko. Let me tell you what I know about our team, and what I plan on doing to them..." Kakashi told me with a smirk.

I smiled back and listened intently as Kakashi told me all he knew of the trio.

"...And so, as you can tell; the test is all about teamwork. We must get them to work together." Kakashi finished his huge monolouge with a serious face.

I nodded slowly as I processed all this information about these people who had led lives just as bad as mine.

"Alright, what time did the scroll say for them to meet us at the training grounds?" Kakashi asked me.

I blushed and looked down.I held up three fingers and then pointed backwards. _Three hours ago._

Kakashi laughed. "Oh, well. I'm always late anyway, lets go though."

I smiled at him and we left the small dango shop after paying and began to flash-step to the training grounds.

"Oh! Aisuko. I was wondering if you would mind just watching for this test? I'm not saying that you're weak, but I think it might discourage teamwork if they have two different people to fight." Kakashi asked me, looking slightly worried as his eye implored me to understand.

I raised an eyebrow and nodded. I had been wanting to do some more painting anyway. Finally, we arrived at the training ground.

Naruto and Sakura jumped up and yelled at us at the same time: "You're late!" Strangley they said it at the same time. I raised an incredolous eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry about that. We got lost on the path of life..." Kakashi trailed off, looking whistful. I smirked.

"Hmph. Whatever. What is this test anyway?" Uchiha asked, giving me a suspisous look.

"This test will be a test to see if you guys are actually ready to become real genin..." I tuned Kakashi out, as I had already heard all this.

I began to take out my art suplies as the test began. Uzumaki was yelling something to Kakashi, and seemed upset that he was reading. I shrugged and went back to my painting.

I was drawing the Hokage monument, with one member of our team on each over-sized head. Kakashi and I were on the First Hokage's head, looking feirce and determined. We were standing, and the wind gently blew our hair to the side as we both held our kunai in a defensive position to protect the others.

Uchiha sat on the Second Hokage's head. His legs hung loosly over the Hokage's forehead, and in his hand were several shuriken as he observed the village with a scowl. Under the scowl though, you could vaugley see a passion to protect, so intense it was bone chilling.

Haruno stood atop the Third and current Hokage's head. She had a worried look as she glanced at Uhiha, and you could see the love for him easily in her eyes. Above that though, you could see the Will of Fire in her eyes as well. Her body was in a battle stance, and her hands were in front of her; ready to preform a ninjutsu at a moments notice.

I frowned when I heard Haruno scream and looked up from my painting before I could paint Uzumaki in there as well. What I saw made me chuckle. Uzumaki was bust trying to cut himself down from a tree rope. Uchiha was buried up to his neck in the ground, and Haruno was on the floor, having fainted.

I shook my head and went back to painting, ignoring the idiots fighting around me. I painted Uzumaki on the Fourth's head. He stood proudly there, with a goofy smile on his whiskered face. But his Will of Fire shined even more brightly then Haruno's. His blue eyes held love, sadness, pain, hope, but most of all: determination. He was in a fighting stance that was ready for anything.

When I was done I sat back and observed my work with a smile. Then I looked away from my painting to find Uzumaki tied to a log, Uchiha underneath Kakashi, and Haruno looking horrified as Kakashi held a kunai to Uchiha's throat.

I couldn't hear what they were saying, but watched as Uchiha and Haruno began to eat after Kakashi left. Uzumaki's stomach growled so loudly that even I could hear it.

My eyes widened and I smiled as Uchiha and Haruno began stuffing food down Uzumaki's throat. _They understand teamwork! Maybe this will work out after all._

Kakashi reapered looking angry, and I tuned out, looking back to the painting. My red eyes must have been the size of dinner plates as I noticed something that I hoped the others wouldn't when I showed them my work. _Uzumaki and the Fourth look the same...its not possibe that they're related right? They have different names after all. Still, I'll mention it to the Hokage._

"What is it, Aisuko?" I jumped and turned around as I saw Kakashi and the rest of team seven peering over hs shoulders to see my work.

I shook my head and gestured to the painting, diverting the attension from me sucsessfuly.

"This is very good, Aisuko-sensai!" Haruno chirped as her wide, green eyes surveyed the drying paint. I smiled at her.

"Hey, hey! Look at me! I look awesome!" Was Uzumaki's responce to my painting and he smiled at me.

"Hn, it is well made." Came from the Uchiha who gave me another suspicous look. I gave him a smile as well, hoping to melt his icy curiousity of me.

"It is really good, Aisuko. I like how you didn't make yourself any taller than you really are." Kakashi commented, and everyone laughed as they saw that I indeed, was _very_ short in the painting.

They laughed even harder when they saw that it was also true in real life, as I was at least half a foot shorter than Uzumaki, which made me the shortest one there by far. I winced and flipped them all off before walking away.

A few minutes later I turned and went back; I had forgoten my painting. I met team 7 halfway back and we walked back to the village together, holding my painting tightly. "Hey, Aisuko. We're getting ramen, would you like to come?" Kakashi asked me, the pleading evident in his visible eye.

I smirked at him and shook my head before taking off so Uzumaki couldn't force me. _Time to visit the Hokage._

Before I walked into the Hokage's office, I remembered my wolf mask and put it on. It fit perfectly and ddn't hinder my vision at all.

"Come in." The Hokage's old voice came from inside the office. I walked in and bowed.

"Ah, Wolf-san. Nice to see you again. Actually, I'm glad you came, I have some things that I need to ask you." The Hokage told me.

I nodded and walked further into the room, closing the door behind me, that in turn activated the sound barrier. "You can go first then, as I assume you have a reason for coming here?" The Hokage asked and I nodded again.

I walked over to his desk and placed my small painting on it. "Very nice! Um... You didn't really come here just to show me this right?" The Hokage asked, looking doubtful and amused.

I laughed softly and shook my head. I pointed to Uzumaki, and then hesitated before slowly drawing my finger down to rest on the Fourth's head. Then I looked at the Hokage and tilted my head. _Why do they look so alike?_

"They do look alike, if that is what you mean," I nodded to the Hokage, and he smiled sympatheticly before continuing. "Unfortunatly, I cannot tell you more, as it is restricted information. I must also ask that you do not point this out to anyone else."

I nodded, but then I had an idea. I grabbed a blank sheet of paper from the Hokage's desk and looked at him, my head cocked. _Can I have a pen? _

The Hokage passed me a pen and I scribbled on the paper, in my neat handwriting. I wrote: _What if I guess correctly? Because I already think I know, Hokage-sama._

The Hokage smiled at me and nodded, guesturing for me to continue. I wasted no time and began to write again. _Is Uzumaki the son of the Fourth? It would make sence that the Hokage didn't want to seal the demon into someone else's baby. What I don't understand is why he didn't tell anyone?_

The Hokage's eyes widened as he read what I had written. "Wolf-san. You are correct. The Yondaime Hokage didn't say that he was marrying Uzumaki Kushina or having a baby because he still has several enemies in the rock village, and he didn't want them attacked. What I have just told you is classified and may not be shared with anyone under any circumstanses by your blood oath." I nodded seriously.

The Hokage smiled at me and nodded back. "Thank you Ais- Wolf-san. Dissmised."

I smiled and flash-steped out of the office, then ran back to my small apartment. When I got back I hung the portrait of team 7 to my wall.

I soon got bored as I had nothing better to do than to sit around my apartment. I was just about to go take a look around the village when I was saved by a loud knock at my door.

I answered the door to find Uchiha glaring at me, Haruno smiling politly at me, and Uzumaki glaring at Uchiha. I smiled at them and raised my eyebrows.

"Good afternoon, Aisuko-sensai. We are going out with our friends on the other teams and were wondering, since we're about the same age, if you wanted to come with us?" Haruno asked politly.

At first I was shocked. I had never been asked to go out with someone before and didn't know what to do. I just went with it and nodded my head, walking out of the room and turning to the door.

As I was locking the door, I paused. _Is this what it's like to make friends?_ I decided not to worry about it and just go with the flow.

We all set off to the park where we were meeting up with the others, and I laughed along with my group as we forgot for a time the rank difference between us.

When we arrived at the park, everyone stopped and looked at me, causing me to blush. "Who is that, Sakura?" A guy that was completely covered in clothes exept for his spiky black hair and black glasses asked.

"Everyone! Gather around. This is Aisuko-sensai! Basic information is that she is my other teacher, she is our age, and she can't talk due to brain injury." Sakura yelled as everyone walked over to us.

I blushed and looked around, feeling akward as everyone stared at me, some suspicous, others doubtful, some awed, and, thankfuly, some open and happy. I smiled at everyone.

"Well, I'm Nara Shikamaru." A guy my age with a pineapple pony-tail and a lazy expression.

"I'm Akimichi Chouji." A large guy eating chips told me.

"Aburame Shino." Said the guy who had talked earlier. He seemed like someone who didn't talk much, but the Aburame clan was mostly quiet.

"I-I'm Hyuga H-H-Hinata." Said a shy girl who seemed like she needed to get out more, not that I ever got out.

"Hyuga Neji." The name was said in a cold voice, and I could tell that the white-eyed man didn't trust me.

"My name's Inuzuka Kiba! Can you really not speak at all? Or are you just shy?" Inuzuka asked me with a glare, this guy didn't trust me either. I nodded and pointed to the small dog on his head, tilting mine to the side a bit. "Oh, this here is Akamaru!" Kiba told me as the dog growled.

"I am Rock Lee! Its a pleasure to meet someone so youthful! I am dearly sorry about your speaking situation!" Lee told me with a big smile and I smiled back, he seemed very nice.

"Hi, my name is Tenten. Nice to meet you, Aisuko-sensai." A nice sounding girl told me, but I could tell that she didn't fully trust me.

"And I'm Yamanaka Ino, nice to meet you." A girl with really long blond hair told me, and I smiled at her.

I smiled at everyone. "So, Aisuko-sensai. How did you manage to be a teacher so young?" Inuzuka asked me with a sneer. "Do you think you're to good for us?" 

"Kiba!" Haruno smacked him as I stood there, unsure of what to do. "You know full well she can't speak, how could she answer that?" Haruno yelled.

"There's no way that's true!" Inuzuka yelled back. He was about to try to hit Haruno back, but I appered inbetween them, and my ice blocked Inuzuka's hit.

I raised my eyebrows at him and guestured at the ice. "So that's it, huh? I bet I could take you down, Aisuko-_sensai. _I challange you to a fight with one of us here. If you lose, you have to take us all to see the Hokage and get him to tell us that you cannot speak." Inuzuka told me, obviously thinking I would say no, as did everyone else.

Instead, I smirked and nodded. Inuzuka's eyes widened. "Hey, hey! Who's she gonna fight?" Uzumaki yelled.

"Aisuko-sensai, you don't have to do this. I'm sorry." Haruno told me and I shook my head with a smile. "You want to prove yourself to us?" Haruno asked, her eyes wide. My smile widened and I nodded again.

"Hang on! What does Sensai get if she wins?" Akimichi asked, stuffing another chip into his already stuffed mouth.

"She gets to, hmm. Aha! We will treat her as a friend, and not a teacher. Is that okay Aisuko-sensai?" Haruno asked me.

"Like she would want that, she considers herself to be above us, right _Sensai?_" Inuzuka asked me with another sneer as Akamaru growled.

I ignored him and nodded my head with a grin at Haruno. "Hn, who will she fight?" I heard the Uchiha ask.

"I think she should fight Neji." Nara said, yawning.

"Neji? Why Neji?" Uzumaki yelled, as everyone looked confused.

Neji smirked with a shrug. "I'm up to taking on the teacher."

We all flash stepped to the training grounds, and everyone but myself and Neji backed away to watch.

"No killing or serious injuries! Begin!" Tenten yelled, and the battle for my honor began.

**Okay! How was that? Aisuko meets the Rookie 9, and finds out more about Naruto than most! You may have noticed that she refers to everyone by their last names. She does that because she doesn't know them well, but she refers to Neji by his first name because of Hinata. **

**PLEASE REVEIW! I only have two and it makes me sad! :(**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey! I'm back with the next chapter and I wanted to tell you that Ryuku Ride informed me of some previous mistakes. I know that Guy-sensai's group shouldn't have aappeared this early, but the Rookie 9 know them from interviews at the academy, so they're friends. Also, Ino and Sakura aren't fighting because they made a truce for gatherings like this.**

**BTW: I don't own Naruto. SURPRISE!**

_Recap:_

_Neji smirked with a shrug. "I'm up to taking on the teacher."_

_We all flash stepped to the training grounds, and everyone but myself and Neji backed away to watch._

_"No killing or serious injuries! Begin!" Tenten yelled, and the battle for my honor began._

"Only taijutsu and kenjutsu, right? No chakra." Neji asked me and I nodded.

We both pulled out kunai, and I suppressed my bloodline as we began to fight.

Our kunai clashed and I lifted my leg up to deliver a hard kick, but Neji dodged smoothly and reached out his palm to strike my chest. I caught it with ease and kept it in a firm grip as I began to twist his hand.

Before he could get hurt badly, Neji kneed me in my stomach and we jumped apart as I coughed. **A/N: It would be lower, but she's short! :D**

Neji smirked. "Is that the best an ANBU teacher has in taijutsu?"

I didn't take the bait but I did reach to my ANBU tattoo and put on my mask. That way he couldn't see the flash of pain that was surely shining in my eyes.

Time to get almost serious. I jumped towards him at twice my previous speed, and he only had time to widen his eyes a fraction before I kicked him straight in the chest.

He went flying back and I appeared behind him and punched his back, hard. He went forward a few yards before collapsing on the ground in a heap. I placed my foot gently on his back and pulled out a newly sharpened kunai. I barely let it graze the back of his neck, giving him shivers, and the knowledge that I had won.

"Aisuko wins!" Tenten yelled as the unofficial protractor.

Everyone was staring wide-eyed at my display. I took off my mask and gently placed it back into my tattoo, and it seemed to break the forming shock. "Wow Aisuko! That's amazing!" Uzumaki yelled.

I smiled at him, and the others smiled back, if a little hesitantly. I turned back to Neji and offered him my hand to help him up. He took my hand, but when he looked up to thank whoever had helped him, he dropped my hand as if it had burned him. Odd, my hands were cold as ice.

"There is no way a person your age could be that good, and actually be allowed to leave their village. You are either a spy, or a missing nin. Either way requires we kill you. Who are you and where do you come from?" Neji asked me, yelling by the time he got to the end.

I flinched at his words. I suppose that is what I looked like to others. I was nothing better than a spy. "Neji!" Haruno yelled.

Everyone except Inuzuka looked at him as if he was crazy. "I will find out who you are, mark my words, traitor wolf."

I flinched again, and flinched once more as he flash-stepped away. "Aisuko-chan. I-I'm sure he's just upset that he lost. He'll come around. You'll see." Haruno told me as she smiled softly.

Inuzuka just scoffed and walked away. "Hey, hey! Sakura-chan is right, Aisuko! Everyone knows that Neji just has some weird fate shit going on, ignore the teme." Came from the Uzumaki.

Hinata walked shyly up to me. "U-um. Naruto-kun is r-r-right, Aisu-suko. Thank you f-f-for putting my cousin in his pl-place." She smiled as she walked away.

Yamanaka and Akimichi smiled apologetically at me before walking off to go to their respective homes. Nara just patted my shoulder as he walked past me, but then hesitated on my other side.

"You know, you really are a great ninja, Aisuko. Defiantly worthy of your title." Nara told me, and I turned around to face him as he walked away, a faint blush on my cheeks. What is this feeling? Happiness?

"That was an interesting fight," Uchiha said with a smirk.

I sighed, knowing that that was the best I would get from him. Haruno and Uzumaki followed him as he left, and I watched them with a faint smile.

I looked around to see who was still there, and found that Tenten, Aburame, and Lee were still standing around. "That really was well done. I don't think I've ever seen anyone defeat my teammate so easily. But, then again, you are an ANBU member. Sorry, but I have to go." Tenten told me, all in a rush. I smiled at her and nodded.

Lee stood next to me with sorrow on his face. "I know how you must feel, Aisuko. I'm still trying to get people to accept me, because I have practically no chakra and have to completely focus on taijutsu. I would love it if you would like to train with me and my youthful Guy-sensai some day." He was smiling by the time he got to the end.

I smiled again, I could tell that training with him would probably be hard, but I was in for it. I nodded at him and smiled. He smiled back and walked off.

I sighed and began to walk off when I remembered Aburame was still there. I turned back around with an apologetic face.

"Don't worry, Aisuko. Many people forget me because of how little I say. Shall I walk you home? It's quite dark." Aburame asked me, and something about his voice made it seem like he was smiling.

I smiled back and nodded. I could take care of myself, but I would probably get lost. We walked home in silence, and I mentally thanked Aburame for not mentioning my fight, or Neji.

When we got to my doorstep, I acted on an impulse I had never felt before. I hesitantly stepped closer to Aburame, and gave him a tentative hug. I had only just met him, but I had no better way to say thank you. I could tell by the way he lightly hugged me back and waited for me to lock the door before leaving that he completely understood.

The next few months passed quickly, and team 7 had done tons of small chores around the village. The Hokage called them 'D ranked missions' but, our team had to admit that we couldn't stand this housework much longer.

Now we stood in the Hokage's office, awaiting our next mission. "Okay, well on the list for you guys is picking weeds in the jungle, sweeping the arena, babysitting at the orphanage, or painting the wall that surrounds the village." The Hokage told us while all our jaws dropped except for Kakashi, though it looked like he was trying hard not to.

Then Uzumaki's face turned angry and I groaned inwardly about the explosion that was sure to come shortly. "No! I refuse to do these stupid chores anymore! We're ninja, not housewives! Give us a real mission already!" He yelled and Haruno smacked him while Kakashi apologized, even though on the inside, I'm pretty sure we were all thanking Uzumaki.

"Well, let me explain missions to you..." The Hokage began explaining something, but I was paying more attention to my team's conversation.

"So, Naruto. Why is it that you like ramen so much?" Haruno asked him out of the blue, surprising most of us. I was shocked that she so blatantly ignored the Hokage.

"Well, there are so many types of ramen! Instant ramen in a cup, frozen ramen, reheated ramen, and ramen from places like Ichiraku's!" Uzumaki told us and we all listened in.

I for one had been extremely curious as to what was so special about ramen to Uzumaki, but hearing him talk about it helped all our curiosity. Kakashi nodded at him. "I for one, prefer ramen made at a shop like Ichiraku's." Kakashi told us. "Which one do you guys like best?"

"Ramen in a cup, definitely." Came from Haruno. As we were talking, I tried hard not to chuckle as I noticed that the guards in the room were also ignoring the still talking Hokage, paying more attention to our conversation.

Uchiha made a face. "Frozen ramen is way better." My eyebrows rose at this. Not only was I surprised that Uchiha commented, I was also surprised that he liked the frozen kind. It was known for being horrible.

"I have to agree with Kakashi-sensai. Ichiraku's is the best! What about you, Aisuko-sensai?" Uzumaki asked me, and all eyes except for the STILL rambling Hokage turned to me.

I smiled hesitantly at the heat of there gazes and pointed to Haruno. I don't have to talk to anyone to get cup ramen, and it doesn't have to be hot.

Haruno smiled at me and I returned the gesture. "Do you guys want to get ramen after this then?" Uzumaki asked and we all nodded eagerly at him.

"...So that is what a mission is and- Hey! Are you guys even listening to me? Kakashi!" The Hokage's now yelling voice brought all our attention back to him and we all turned to look at him. Uzumaki and Uchiha were wary, Haruno was guilty, and Kakashi was scratching the back of his head as he apologized. I just kept an emotionless face as I tried not to laugh my ass off. **(A/N: I cracked up FOREVER when I watched that part! :D)**

"Fine," The Hokage sighed. "I'll give you a C ranked mission. You will be escorting someone to the land of waves."

Everyone smiles in the room at hearing this news. "Awesome! Is it some important Princess?" Uzumaki yelled with a huge grin plastered all over his face.

I sweat dropped as Haruno smacked his head. "Tazuna, you may enter now." The Hokage spoke to someone on the other side of the door, ignoring Uzumaki's stupid comment.

A clearly drunk man walked into the room still drinking from his sake bottle. "What? I pay this much for protection and all I get are a bunch of brats? How am I supposed to place my trust in these guys? Especially the short one!" Tazuna slurred reeling back as he spoke.

I flinched at the comment, knowing he was talking about me. I knew I couldn't harm the client, but I could scare him.

Before anyone could stop me, I threw on my wolf mask and appeared in front of him, an ice kunai in my hand and my monstrous red eyes staring him down. I grabbed his hat off of his head and threw it deftly into the air, far away from us.

He snorted. "That all you got? Throw my hat? Oh, now I'm real safe." He slurred again, but we could all hear his nervousness.

I smirked at him and held up one finger. Then, with my back to the still airborne hat, and my eyes locked onto the extremely drunk Tazuna, I threw the ice kunai behind me.

Everyone but myself watched as the kunai flew straight and true, to land perfectly at the hat's center, and pin it to the wall. Tazuna turned back to face me, his once murky eyes now bright with respect and no hint of drunkenness.

"I was mistaken. My apologies, please help me get to my home safely and guard me as I build this bridge." Tazuna spoke, no longer slurring.

I smiled softly at him and nodded. "Okay, you are all dismissed, meet at the front gates in two hours and be on your way. Good luck, and Aisuko, please stay here for a second." The Hokage told us as everyone filed out of the crowded room, my team smirking at me.

As I turned back to face the Hokage, I wondered if he was angry that I put a hole into Tazuna's hat, which he had retrieved as he left, my ice kunai melting quickly after I stopped feeding it chakra.

"You will not be going on this mission with team 7." The Hokage told me, a serious expression on his face. My eyes widened. I knew he might be mad at me for what I did to Tazuna, but I didn't think he would be that mad. Could it have been because of the speech we ignored?

"Don't worry, Aisuko. Its not because you did anything wrong. Its just that we need another ANBU member to go on an A ranked mission, and most of them are unavailable. As an ANBU on a long-term mission in the leaf, you are permitted to go on short-term missions when required." The Hokage reassured me.

I took in the knowledge slowly and I nodded at him. An A rank mission? Sounds exciting! Some more ANBU members entered the room and I assumed that they would make up our team. There was a Rat, Monkey, Tiger, and Bear.

"Your mission is to check out one of our bomb factories. Every year they have to have some ANBU members replace the bomb holders so that they don't rot. It is an extremely dangerous mission, because if there is one mistake, the whole place will explode, and your chances of making it out alive are zero. It is a fairly easy process and the workers will explain what to do. Good luck, and Bear-san; you're in charge." The Hokage told us as we nodded and flash-stepped to the gate, we were all ready to go anyway, why waste time?

"Wolf-san, I know of your silent predicament, and I just wanted to let you know that myself, Rat, Monkey, and Tiger have been on many missions together before. We know how to work with each other well, so please bear with us as we get used to you, as we are now your permanent team." Bear told me and I could tell he was smiling at me.

I didn't want them to think me as rude as they all waited for my reaction. I quickly took off my mask so that they could see I was smiling at them all. I placed my mask into my tattoo and they looked confused.

"Wolf-san? What are you doing? On missions as ANBU members, we must leave our masks on." Tiger told me, tilting his head a bit, mirroring what the others must have been thinking.

I smiled and shook my head pointing to my whole face, and then my mouth._ I can't talk so I use my expressions instead._

"Oh! Is it because you can't talk?" Monkey asked me, I think he was smiling to. I nodded at them all and smiled.

"Well, I hate to be a party pooper, but we gotta go if were gonna get there in time fellas." Rat chimed in.

I smiled when Rat spoke, happy that there was another female on my team. We all nodded and set off, flash-stepping away from the village, and towards the bomb factory.

We set up camp at night in a nice clearing with a stream near by. As we sat around the campfire, the others talked and joked, and I smiled at the friendly atmosphere.

"Okay guys. Now we need to discuss our battle plan." Bear told us, and we all listened quietly. "Tiger, you are in charge of evacuating the workers after they tell us what to do. I want them all at least five kilometers away. If anything explodes, you leave us behind and get the workers to a more secure location." Tiger nodded.

"Rat, I want you and Monkey and Wolf to help me with the actual replacement." Rat and Monkey nodded seriously, despite their joking nature. I nodded as well, also with a grim face.

I was tired so I stood us slowly, groaning and stretching. I pointed to my sleeping bag at the others questioning looks, and washed before I went to sleep, my body preparing for the day to come.

Before I knew it the next morning I was in the bomb shelter, standing next to the bomb casings. Tiger had just evacuated all the workers, and they were a good six kilometers away.

"Okay, Wolf, Rat, Monkey. You ready? We need our best concentration for this one." Bear told us. We nodded gravely, all trace of yesterday's laughter gone.

We began working, slowly, carefully, and efficiently. Suddenly though, all hell broke loose. Monkey's knee jerked suddenly, and it bumped into Bear's hand, which had been doing the most important part of the change: removing the bombs with a sharp wire. If he punctured even one, the whole place went down.

And that is precisely what happened. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as Bear jerked back. Monkey and Rat yelled: "SHIT!"

I suddenly knew why I was placed on this mission. I had the ultimate defense to keep these people safe, for the kids they had back home, for their lives that lay waiting for them at the village. I was a tiny ant compared to what they were worth for the village.

I ran towards the trio that was huddled in a corner of the room, and I quickly activated my bloodline. However, in order to save chakra, I placed my ice in a dome, only surrounding Bear, Monkey, and Rat. I left myself outside the dome to make it smaller, as using my bloodline used a lot of chakra, especially when I would have to keep it from melting in the intense heat which was milliseconds away from coming towards us.

The ANBU trio didn't even realize what I had done until the explosion hit us. The first wave of fire stuck me hard. It knocked me over so I was sitting in front of my dome as the burn of fire washed over me like a waterfall.

I forced myself to focus on my dome, and keeping it intact. I ignored the fire that blasted my face and lit my clothes on fire. I barely had time to throw away my clothes so they couldn't burn me anymore than they had before the second wave hit.

If the first one was bad, this was hell. The fire licked up my sides, and while I didn't light on fire, I could feel my flesh burning and a horrible scent filled the air.

The ANBU trio finally realized that they were alive and unharmed, so they cautiously opened their eyes to what must have been a really shocking sight.

Through a dome of protective ice, they could see flames covering everything, and extreme winds pushing and pulling tons of debris everywhere. My really short figure stood protectively in front of the dome.

Even though I was naked and knew that they could see all my scars of torture from Kabuto, I didn't flinch. I stood in front of my dome, pouring my chakra into it to keep it from melting in the oven I was consumed in.

I screamed and fell to my knees as some piece of burning hot metal sliced through the skin of my back and wedged itself between my shoulder blades, burying its molten steel deep into my back.

I screamed again as liquid metal splashed onto my left leg, burning it severely. I forced my bloodline back that was desperately trying to save me and focused it back onto my dome which had almost begun to melt, but I saved it.

The ANBU trio inside watched me with horrified looks as I was burned in front of them, taking all their hits. None of them seemed to care that I was stark naked.

I wondered briefly how I was still alive as I felt the blood from my back wound pour down my back and mix with the blood that was pouring from another would I had received when I was stabbed by the steel rod's twin, now having to almost melted steel pieces wedged into my back.

I could vaguely hear the trio I was saving yelling at me to stop, and to let them die with me, but I payed them no heed as I was now running out of chakra and the explosions showed no signs of stopping.

Finally I couldn't hold the dome up any longer so I allowed it to fall, but immediately threw my naked, bloody body on top of them, somehow managing to hold them all under me as they attempted to escape.

Instead of my ice, I now used my own body to protect them from the flames and debris. My natural cold body kept them from burning as fire licked my legs and arms.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the explosions stopped. There were now only a few small fires blazing, and the building had long since also burned away**. (Made of wood.) **

Somehow, I managed to pull my broken and battered body off of the trio, who all had smudge marks and a few scratches, but nothing serious. All three had identical expressions of shock, horror, and sadness.

"W-w-w-why?" Monkey asked, stuttering on the same word over and over.

I only smiled faintly as I allowed the dark waters of either death or sleep fold over me and bring me into its murky depths.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _An insistent beeping entered my mind as I swam through the dark currents of death or sleep. I really still couldn't figure out which one it was. I groaned as that annoying beep continued and slowly my body began to ache again.

I groaned again as my whole body erupted into fierce pain, and for an awful moment I felt as if I was back in that horrible, never ending explosion. I had to open my eyes, had to see if I still was in that horrid place.

When I franticly opened my eyes, a welcome sight greeted me. I was once again in Konoha Hospital, and the beeping noise seemed to be my heart monitor. I looked around my room and found that I wasn't alone. Next to my bed was a very grave looking Hokage.

"Welcome back, Aisuko. I-I'm so sorry." The Hokage choked out, and he seemed on the verge of tears.

My eyes widened as I realized that he thought it was his fault that I ended up like this. I slowly raised a bandaged hand and patted his head. His head raised as I lifted my hand and we smiled softly.

"Bear told me what happened. That was a pretty smart yet ridiculously stupid move. But I'm proud of you, you have earned this village's trust." The Hokage told me and I smiled brightly. "Speaking of Bear, you have some visitors." He gently got up and smiled at me before leaving the white hospital room.

"Knock, knock?" I heard a voice call and smiled as Rat, Monkey, Tiger, and Bear walked into the room.

They all crowded around my bed, and we just looked at each other for a while. Finally, Rat broke the silence. "W-why'd ya do it, Chibi Wolf?"

I blinked slowly and smiled softly at their identical expressions of sorrow, guilt, and message would take a while.

First I pointed to my heart, and allowed a fraction of the sorrow and horror I held there show on my face. Then I placed a hand on Bear's heart, and his face lit up with the joy of his lifetime. I allowed my bloodline to come into use as I imagined small children running around the bed, laughing. Ice sculptures followed my thoughts and the others gasped, before smiling at the kids.

My figures faded away and they all turned back to me, with equally serious faces. "You thought our lives meant more than yours did, didn't you?" Monkey asked me. I nodded, happy that they figured it out.

"Idiot. Why do you think we joined the ANBU? To save our own asses? No! To save people like you!" Bear almost yelled.

My eyes widened as the others waited for my reaction. _Why, why would they want to save me? Unless, unless they care about me. But that hasn't happened since I cried with Kakashi in the clearing. No one cares about me anymore, I'm simply a broken body._

"We care 'bout ya, Chibi Wolf." Rat told me, and I felt my eyes grow even wider than they were before, and my eyes filled with tears.

All of their eyes widened as I threw my arms around all of them; a huge group hug. "There, there. Thank you, thank you for saving my friends." Tiger whispered into my ear.

"Thank you, for saving me, and my friend's lives." Rat, Monkey, and Bear told me, and for once, Rat's accent didn't come out.

I smiled at them all as we wiped our watery eyes. "Well, we best go now. You have another group of visitors." Tiger told me and they all trouped out of the sterile room that smelled horrible.

A grin spread across my face as Kakashi walked into the room, and anyone could tell that he was full out grinning beneath his mask.

**Aww, well, what did you think? Please review and let me know!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Umm, hi! I'm really really sorry bout how long it took me to update! I had a whole bunch on my plate. But I would like to thank all of you for reviewing this story, they are the only thing that keeps me writing. **

**So, without further ado (except to say that I don't own Whatshisface, or Naruto) I give you: CHAPTER 9! **

_Recap:_

_I smiled at them all as we wiped our watery eyes. "Well, we best go now. You have another group of visitors." Tiger told me and they all trouped out of the sterile room that smelled horrible._

_A grin spread across my face as Kakashi walked into the room, and anyone could tell that he was full out grinning beneath his mask._

A worried Haruno, excited Uzumaki, and a bored Uchiha walked into my hospital room slowly, taking in the bandages that covered my small body entirely. I must have looked like a mummy.

For a while we just watched each other, taking in the new expressions and the small things that had changed while we were away from each other. Finally Uzumaki couldn't handle the pressure and broke the silence.

"Hey, hey! Aisuko-sensai! What happened to you?" He yelled at me, and everyone sweat dropped.

I weakly raised my arm in a vague gesture to where I hoped the mission report was. Despite my obvious lack of good instructions, the group understood that they could read the report.

Haruno grabbed it and began flipping through the pages, looking for the actual part where I could've been injured this badly. She gasped as she landed on the right page, and we watched as tears filled her eyes while she continued to read.

Haruno let out a choked gasp, almost a sob as she handed the pages on to Kakashi, and his eye widened while he read. Uchiha read the report next, and his face didn't change from impassive as he passed it to a fidgeting Uzumaki.

We all waited patiently for Uzumaki to finish. Finally he lowered the papers from his face with violently shaking hands. "Sensai, why? You didn't even know them!" He yelled at me, his fists now tightly clenched.

Haruno gasped, Uchiha raised an eyebrow, and Kakashi didn't change as all of a sudden I had an ice kunai in my hand and raised it so its tip just barely touched Uzumaki's neck.

My hair shadowed my eyes as I forcibly raised his head to look into my eyes. Not knowing what else to do, I made a blood promise to him.

Carefully keeping our eyes locked, I unwrapped the bandages on my right hand, and made a long, shallow cut across my four fingers. Slowly I then reached up with a steady hand towards his forehead protector. I traced the Leaf of Fire with my bloody fingers and then used some chakra to heal my hands.

The end result was Haruno staring at us with a small smile, Kakashi watching with a fierce Will of Fire, and Uchiha allowing some shock to show through while mostly looking impassive. Then I returned my gaze to lock onto the eyes of the ninja wearing a still-dirty orange jumpsuit that looked at me with eyes that understood far more than anyone that young should have to endure.

We smiled wearily at each other and nodded. At that moment, a silent pact seemed to form between all of us. There was no need to talk about much of anything between us anymore. In this to clean, white, and unfeeling room; our team understood each other on a level that was to deep to begin to describe. Everything about everyone in that room made perfect sense. No one was curious about someone else's motives. There were no more mysteries.

I also knew that when we left this room, the sense of deep understanding would disappear. No one knew the extent of all our lives in this room, and we couldn't continue as if we did. Everyone else also understood this, but I could tell that our relationship would be better now.

My team saw that I was tired, and slowly left the room. My eyelids grew even more heavy with each long step team 7 took out of the building. By the time Kakashi closed the white door with one final click; I was asleep.

I woke up slowly, and opened my sleepy eyes to see Shino watching bugs crawl over his hand. I smiled as it looked like he was having fun; the bugs didn't scare me, I thought they were really cool.

Shino looked up quickly as I slowly pushed myself up so that I was sitting up. "You're up, good. If you like, your clothes are in the bathroom." He told me as his bugs crawled back up into his jacket.

I smiled and nodded, hopping out of bed and only slightly wincing as I headed to the bathroom. I could tell that my injuries were healed, so after I took off my paper gown, I slowly removed my bandages.

The sight that revealed itself left me gasping. My body was unscarred from the burns, but where I had been stabbed twice and where the liquid metal had splashed me were different stories entirely.

On my back the large scar that was right in between my shoulder blades had the shape of a large moon. The smaller scar that rested a little to the right of the small of my back had the shape of a star.

Also, when the wounds were healing, ash got stuck in them, making the scars dark so that they looked like tattoos. To bad the rest of my scars from Kabuto didn't look this pretty. I looked into the mirror after I was finished changing, and all the new scars were visible.

I frowned then. I continued to stare at myself and pout. I had large breasts, nice legs, flat stomach, and muscles that weren't strangely large, but you could tell they were there. However, despite all that, I was so short! My pretty reflection sighed before I turned back around and headed out.

When I re-entered the hospital room, Shino was once again playing with his bugs. When he saw me watching him with a small smile on his face, he quickly put them away.

"Sorry." He told me, and I shook my head slightly. I gestured to his sleeve and smiled a bit wider at him.

Shino's brow ruffled, and he stared at me, not comprehending. "My bugs...don't bother you?"

I shook my head again, and repeated my earlier movement. Slowly, bugs started to crawl out of his sleeve, and Shino watched me anxiously for any reaction. I gave him none. Moving slowly as well, I walked towards him and cautiously held my hand out to the bugs that were now crawling all over his hand.

I smiled brightly as one of the bugs flew from his hand to mine and rested on the top of my index finger. I lifted it closer to my face and looked into its eyes. After a bit the bug turned and flew back to Shino who stood up swiftly. "I must go, I'm only here to tell you that you have been released from the hospital and it is a few weeks before the chunnin exams begin."

I nodded to him and followed him out of my room. As I left the hospital, I saw the rest of team 7 outside of it and smiled at them. Kakashi said something to the others that I couldn't hear and they all ran off together. Sasuke looked slightly annoyed, Sakura looked angry, and Naruto looked bored and tired.

I smiled at Kakashi as he walked towards me and his eye curved back. "I have them doing team bonding lessons. Its not working to well." He laughed softly and rubbed the back of his head. I smiled at the thought as we walked slowly in the direction that the others ran off to.

"This time they all have to finish a bowl of ramen, while feeding each other, blindfolded." Kakashi told me. I stopped walking suddenly and Kakashi turned around, looking confused.

"Is everything okay?" Kakashi asked me as my hair covered my eyes.

Finally, I couldn't take the laughter that was bubbling up in my chest and begging to come out of my mouth so that the world could hear it. I threw my head back and laughed loudly. Great peals of my amusement rang across the street that I stood in the middle of, laughing my ass off. I finally managed to contain my laughter enough to open my eyes, wipe them of the tears that gathered there, and look around the clearing.

All of the villagers in the area looked at me with shock and hatred. Somehow they had come to know that I was originally a sound ninja, and none of them trusted me. I may have gotten the trust of the village from the Hokage, but that really didn't influence their thoughts about me.

That sobered me up enough to look back at Kakashi, who was staring at me with a wide eye. I tilted my head to the side and raised my eyebrows. What?

"Oh, sorry. I've never heard you laugh that much before." He told me, shaking his head slightly. Suddenly, his face brightened as he remembered something. "Oh yes! The reason I had to talk with you is that I needed to tell you that I signed up the others for the chunnin exams. Do you think they're ready?"

I grinned and nodded. It would be hard for them, but I was fairly sure that they could make it. We would have to start training harder though if we wanted them to do well.

The ramen eating contest didn't go down to well, as Sasuke used his sharingan to see through his blindfold and feed Naruto perfectly, even if he was a bit rough. Naruto never even managed to pick up the ramen with a blindfold on, and Sakura was so hungry by then that she ate the ramen for Sasuke herself.

After that, Kakashi decided that it was a lost cause, and we ended the training session early. Naruto and Sakura ran after some box with eye holes, and Sasuke left as well, after picking up some rocks.

I started to walk home, but changed my direction and put on my mask as the villagers continued to glare at me. With my mask on, they didn't know who I was. They only knew that the Hokage trusted me, I was strong, and I protected them and their children. Some of them even offered me free things.

I continued walking, and decided to wear my mask more often. It proved that I was worthy of respect, despite my short nature. As I continued walking, I heard a little kid crying, and Naruto yelling.

The sight of a cat man holding up a small kid angered me, and the temperature dropped a bit, but they didn't notice. When Naruto rushed forward and the man stopped him by tripping him with chakra wires, I became very angry. No one messed with my teammates, and no one should flaunt their being stronger than you that much. The temperature dropped way down low, and they all noticed it, but didn't know where it came from.

I was about to do more, but Sasuke threw one of his rocks at the cat man, and the boy dropped. With the attention on him, Sasuke crumbled his other rock and said something to the others.

Whatever he said made the cat guy angry, as he took the bundle off of his back and placed it on the ground in front of him. That was the last straw. He would not move a single muscle more.

I flash stepped right in front of him and activated my bloodline so that I could rap ice around his and the girls ankles so that they couldn't move before anyone could even register me. "Sensai..." Sakura breathed out.

"Kankuro, stop. You are a disgrace to our village." A voice said, and Kankuro stood as straight as he could, and with slight difficulty placed the package back onto his back.

"Sorry Gaara, but they started it!" Kankuro told them. My ice crept further up their legs at the lie and Kankuro shivered, while the other girl remained still, though she had a pained expression.

Gaara swirled into my view in a flurry of sand. "I take it you know why we're here, ANBU?" Kankuro asked me with a sneer.

The temperature dropped further, and the ice around Kankuro was raised to his chest. He shivered violently and he winced. I nodded my head to him. Everyone watched to see what would happen, but no one interfered.

Suddenly I freed the sand ninjas and looked to the fence, a second or to before Rat appeared there. "Oi! Wolf! We got a mission! Come to the Hokage's office, 'kay? Oh, and Wolf? Fix the temperature, its freezin' over here!" She yelled to me before taking off.

I allowed the temperature to return, and the sand ninjas gave me odd looks, as the others relaxed. I faced away from the sand and towards my team before I took my mask off. I smiled at all of them before taking off to the Hokage's office. I had a mission to do, and hopefully this one wouldn't almost take my life.

**Yay! Any ideas would be lovely, I'm running out ;)**


	10. Chapter 10

Hi! I'm really sorry for taking so long to post something, but with all this stuff happening, I just never had the time. I've re-read this story, and, though I really like it and want it to continue, I don't think I'll be able to do that well. I really don't have any time on my hands for this, and even though I had idea's for the story, I just don't have the ability to keep writing it.

:( So, I'm officially giving this story up for adoption! If you would like to adopt it and continue where I left off, send me a message or review this and I'll talk to ya about it :)

As a final note, I would like to thank everyone who reviewed at any point in time below:

Tikarose/Quiet Harmony-chan: Thank you! You've been an amazing beta, and I've been an awful alpha, so please know that I really appriciate your help, despite my not continuing.

Kuroryu Clan: Thank you for giving me honest feedback and telling me you liked the story, that made my day!

Ryuku Ride-sama: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I can't thank youu enough for all of your encouraging reviews and your kind words, they really kept me going, and I love all of your stories as well!

01 Shadow Angel: Thank you for your lovely review! I worked a long time on the moment between her and the ANBU team :) I wish I could continue this story for you.

Alpen Wolf: You. Are. Amazing! I love you to death; you gave me my first sorta question about the story, and then procceded to review to every chapter! Thank you so much, and know that I'm going to read your stories and review them the second I finish writing these thank you notes.

BC 1234: Your review was totally awesome and made me smile for a long time. Thank you for putting the effort into reviewing so kindly and encouraging me to do more. :)

Saki chi: Thank you for reviewing! :D it was short, but very sweet! Thanks for reading my story.

gaarasgirl44: Thank you! And there's no way my story is better than yours, I'm in love with your stories!

ThePhoenixOfTears: Your review (and convo afterwards) made me so happy! I loved that someone could talk with me for so long about my story :)

TeamworkIsKey: Thank you for being so kind in your review! I love your stories and read them all the time :) keep up the good work!

SC: Thank you very much for your review, and I wish I could have updated as you asked me to :)

Random Girl Person D: Your review made me laugh, and yes I get what you mean! :D Don't worry, if someone adopts this story, I'll make sure they put a one-on-one with Gaara in there. :) (Cause he's totally hot!)

Okay! Thank you all so much, and once again I'm sorry about this. I'll update again once/if someone adopts this story and tell you who it was so you can continue reading. Also, I'm putting up a pole to see who Aisuko should end up with, so you can either review and tell me, or go vote :)


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